Nets Rank Last Among Titleless Teams' Championship Potential

The franchise has not won an NBA Finals since the 1976 merger.

Mar 27, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) makes a move to the basket on Washington Wizards forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. (7) during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

There are 10 NBA franchises yet to be crowned kings of the basketball world, the Brooklyn Nets being one of them. In a recent article by Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report, Brooklyn placed last among the ringless team's championship potential in 2024-25.

Given the current state of the Nets' roster, this ranking seems fair. They are widely forecasted to be one of if not the worst teams in all of basketball next season, but all is not lost in Brooklyn. Yes, they performed poorly in 2023-24 before Mikal Bridges was dealt to the New York Knicks. The Nets only mustered 32 wins, but the Charlotte Hornets, ranked ahead of Brooklyn in Buckley's list, managed just 21 wins themselves.

Does the absence of Bridges, the Nets' only true difference-making departure, account for that large of a drop-off in the win column? He was their best all-around player, but suffered a significant dip in his production compared to the second half of 2022-23.

The Nets finishing toward the bottom half of the league would do wonders for their future, but will this roster truly be as bad as everyone expects them to be? Assuming Cam Thomas takes on a larger offensive role, Jalen Wilson builds off of his summer emergence and Nic Claxton continues to make an underrated case for Defensive Player of the Year, Brooklyn could still hit that 30-win mark.

It's not likely, but the Nets have done far more with less talent in past seasons, so overachieving isn't out of the realm of possibility.

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