The scrapbook isn’t empty, exactly. There are snapshots of prosperity sprinkled across the half-century and change in which the Nets have shared Greater New York with the Knicks. There have been stolen moments when the Nets have genuinely and honestly felt like the greatest basketball show in town.
There was May 10, 1974, a Friday night in Uniondale, when a raucous gathering of 15,934 people stuffed brand-new Nassau Coliseum to watch the Nets beat the Utah Stars 111-100 for their first ABA championship. On the court, rabid fans tore down the baskets as college football fans might ransack goal posts.