Brooklyn’s 2026-27 schedule doesn’t ease into anything. The Nets open at Barclays Center against the Charlotte Hornets, then head out for their first road game in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. And while November initially jumps off the page as a difficult month, March is the stretch that looks like it could really put this team under the microscope.
The early part of the season already comes with some landmines. November features 10 road games, including a back-to-back against the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.
That matchup in New York carries its own weight, especially with the Knicks coming in as the reigning NBA champions. Their only key departure is Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Boston Celtics after serving as the backup center behind Karl-Anthony Towns when coach Mike Brown benched him.
The crosstown matchup has long been called the "Battle of the Borough," but the recent results haven’t made it much of a battle at all. New York has won 14 straight games against Brooklyn.
Indiana adds another layer to that November run, especially with star point guard Tyrese Haliburton back after the torn Achilles tendon he suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Haliburton remains the engine of that offense because of his passing, and he finished the 2024-25 season third in assists at 9.2 per game.
Brooklyn also has a four-game road trip through Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans and Memphis. The Hawks are the toughest stop in that group, while the Mavericks, Pelicans and Grizzlies did not make the play-in.
Even with that early stretch, March is the month that stands out as the real grind. The Nets are scheduled to face a heavy dose of quality opponents, including the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs on the road. They start the month with four straight road games, and a home date against Indiana interrupts a two-game road trip before another one begins.
The closing portion of that month is no picnic either. Cleveland and Boston both come to Brooklyn toward the end of March, and the Nets are staring at nine games against teams that finished above .500 last season.
That matters for a team coming off a 22-60 season and a front office that clearly spent the offseason changing course. General manager Sean Marks traded for Julius Randle, signed Keon Ellis and Mo Wagner, and drafted Mikel Brown Jr., Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau.
The roster looks built to compete more than it did a year ago, and there’s a real incentive attached to that push. Houston owns Brooklyn’s 2027 first-round pick swap, which gives the Nets reason to chase a playoff spot and keep the Rockets from swapping into a lottery pick.
If Brooklyn is going to make noise in this new direction, March may be where the season decides what kind of noise that is.
In Other News...
Nets Face A Michael Porter Jr. Contract Decision With Real Stakes
Michael Porter Jr.'s future has quickly become one of the more interesting contract watches around Brooklyn. After a strong 2025-26 season, he is eligible for an extension before the 2026-27 NBA season, and the Nets have every reason to weigh the timing carefully as they try to map out the next phase of the roster.
For now, though, there has been no reported extension or contract restructure, which keeps the situation unsettled heading into next season. Porter could wind up playing on an expiring deal, and the uncertainty around whether Brooklyn will lock him in now or let the negotiations stretch further only adds another layer to a decision with real stakes. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Still Have One Roster Question Hanging Over This Offseason
The Nets have done a good amount of their summer work already, adding Mikel Brown Jr., Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau in the draft, swinging the deal for Julius Randle and bringing back or signing several other players. On paper, the roster is full, and the market around Brooklyn has settled into something quieter than the churn that defined parts of the offseason.
Still, there is one obvious question hanging over the final weeks before camp: whether the front office is truly done. There have been whispers about possible moves, including the idea of dealing Terance Mann or adding another center, but nothing has surfaced to suggest a transaction is imminent, leaving the Nets in a holding pattern with a complete roster and a little more uncertainty than they may prefer. [Read more 🡒]
The Nets Forwards Who Defined Every Era Of The Franchise
Brooklyn has had a long line of small forwards who helped define what the franchise looked like in different eras, from Bernard King and Rick Barry to Richard Jefferson, Kevin Durant and Julius Erving. Each brought a different kind of gravity to the job, whether it was scoring load, playoff reliability or the sort of star power that could change the entire feel of the team. The names span generations, but the common thread is how often the Nets have leaned on a wing player to set the tone.
Julius Erving still stands apart in that conversation because his Brooklyn years came with the kind of hardware and dominance that turned a great player into a franchise landmark. The article also traces how the others left their own marks through numbers and postseason moments, giving the Nets a position-by-position history lesson that feels bigger than a simple list. It is a reminder that, for this organization, the small forward spot has often been where eras begin and where they are remembered. [Read more 🡒]