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.
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 23rd of those players wearing No. 1 did so in the Brooklyn Nets era, wing alum Mikal Bridges. Once he was done with his NCAA career at Villanova, Bridges was picked up with the 10th overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
He would never suit up for the Sixers, however, being dealt to the Phoenix Suns for Zhaire Smith and draft assets that same night. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native played the first five seasons of his NBA career with the Suns before he would be dealt to the Nets as part of a massive, four-team deal in 2023.
His stay would be for two seasons, moved yet again with Keita Bates-Diop, Juan Pablo Vaulet and draft assets to the New York Knicks in 2024 for Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton, and draft assets.
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During his time playing for the Nets, Bridges wore only jersey No. 1, and put up 21.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets jersey history No. 1 – Mikal Bridges (2023-24)