The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”. Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
Apr 23, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard D’Angelo Russell (1) against the Philadelphia 76ers in game five of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The third of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 1, which has has had a total of 24 players wear the number in the history of the team.
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The first of those players wearing No. 1 did so in the Brooklyn Nets era, point guard alum D’Angelo Russell. After wrapping up his collegiate career with Ohio State, Russell was picked up with the second overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Louisville, Kentucky, native would play the first two season of his pro career with the Lakers before they would deal him with Timofey Mozgov to the Nets for Kyle Kuzma and Brook Lopez in 2017.
His stay in Brooklyn was for two seasons until he was traded again, this time with Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier to the Golden State Warriors for Kevin Durant and draft assets. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Russell wore only jersey No. 1, and put up 19.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets jersey history No. 1 – D’Angelo Russell (2017-19)