The Brooklyn Nets’ list of players who have only ever suited up for the franchise has an unusual leader, and it’s Day’Ron Sharpe.
That’s the kind of odd little wrinkle that comes with a team history built around stars who usually made their mark somewhere else, too. Brooklyn has had plenty of big names pass through over the years, from Julius Erving to Kevin Durant to Jason Kidd. But the common thread for nearly all of those all-time greats is that they wore another jersey at some point in their careers.
On a recent episode of the No Dunks podcast, host JE Skeets took on a tricky task: naming the best player for every franchise who never played for another team. For some clubs, that answer comes quickly. For the Nets, it doesn’t.
Skeets said the obvious choice right now is Nic Claxton, who piled up 30.9 win shares over seven seasons and 380 games in Brooklyn. But that comes with a major catch, since Claxton was dealt to Chicago over the offseason and is almost certainly only a few weeks away from dropping off the list of players who played exclusively for the Nets.
That leaves Sharpe sitting on top for the moment. Across his first five seasons, he has played 253 games and collected 11.9 win shares, most of that work coming as a backup big man.
Now Sharpe is lined up to take over as Brooklyn’s starting center next season, which gives him a real chance to keep stretching his lead. If he stays put and keeps producing, he could hang onto the distinction for a while.
There are also a few younger names in the pipeline who could eventually enter the conversation. Recent draft picks like Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Demin are among the players who could make a run at the spot if their games keep developing over the next few years.
In Other News...
Egor Demin's Next Step Could Decide How Far The Nets Go
Egor Demin enters his second NBA season with the Nets at the kind of crossroads young guards often face, with an offseason built around skill work and summer league reps meant to turn flashes into something more dependable. Brooklyn has already added Julius Randle to help stabilize the group around Demin and Michael Porter Jr., but the Nets still need the second-year player to keep taking real steps if they want the roster to make sense as a whole.
The encouraging part is that Demin has been putting in the work, and the organization has given him a clearer runway to grow into a bigger role. The harder part is the one Brooklyn cannot really dodge: the ceiling of the season may hinge less on the new pieces than on how far Demin can go from here, and whether his development keeps pace with the Nets' expectations. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rebuild Leaves One Big Question About Brooklyns Playoff Timeline
The Nets are deep into a rebuild, and ESPNs latest long-range look only underscores how much work remains. In its three-year projections, Brooklyn lands 24th overall, with the club grading poorly in players, management, draft capital and money, even if the market size gives it a healthier footing than some of the teams buried near the bottom.
For a franchise that has spent plenty of time trying to accelerate the process, the more sobering part is the timeline. ESPN sees the Nets as one of the leagues worst teams this season and suggests they may still be about two years away from seriously pushing for a playoff spot, which leaves Brooklyn with a familiar challenge: patience now, and a lot of questions about how soon the payoff can come. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Veterans Face Added Pressure As Brooklyns Offense Takes Shape
As Brooklyns offense starts to take on a clearer shape, Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle are the two veterans expected to carry the heaviest load. ESPNs latest top-100 list put Porter at No. 60 and Randle at No. 54, a reminder that both still carry real league standing even as the Nets lean on them for more than just scoring. Porter is coming off a career-high scoring average, while Randle enters with the kind of rsum that suggests he can anchor a front line when the team needs a half-court answer.
Under Jordi Fernandez, the Nets are looking for those two to do more than put up points. Their role will stretch into guiding a younger group through the grind of an NBA season, and that makes their consistency a central issue for Brooklyns next step. The offense may be taking shape, but the bigger question is how much of it can be built around two players whose production, expectations and leadership responsibilities are all rising at the same time. [Read more 🡒]