The Brooklyn Nets are knee-deep in their rebuilding journey, and it's been anything but smooth sailing. Wednesday night was a tough one for the Nets, as they faced a crushing 121-92 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. From the opening tip, it was clear that Brooklyn was outmatched.
Missing key players like Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin certainly didn't help the Nets' cause. The young squad struggled to keep pace with the reigning champions, making it a long night for the Brooklyn faithful.
Jordi Fernández gives an update on Noah Clowney's wrist and describes his process of making adjustments to the rotation.#NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/kzBBcVz72V
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However, Coach Fernandez found a silver lining in the performance of his lesser-known players, who showed grit and determination even when the game was out of reach.
“You have to be ready at all times. That's professional basketball,” Fernandez remarked in his postgame press conference.
“I'm very proud of those guys. It's extremely hard to be there sitting and then your number is called and then you play as hard as you can, you make an impact.
Very grateful for those guys.”
Currently, the Nets are still on the hunt for that franchise player to build around. They've got promising talents like Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf, but none have yet emerged as a future superstar.
Brooklyn is eyeing the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft, which is loaded with top-tier talent. With a record of 17-52, they hold the third-worst record in the league, positioning themselves for a high lottery pick. As the regular season winds down, expect the Nets to focus on improving those lottery odds in hopes of landing their cornerstone player.