Over ten years, the Brooklyn Nets have not reached their potential, gaining the second round of the playoffs only twice.

Via Basketball-Reference

This is part of an occasional series on the Barclays Center after ten years. See more here.

Over ten years, the Brooklyn Nets have never quite reached their potential.

They started reasonably strong in 2012-13, then retreated, then rebuilt. There's been a changing cast of players--remember, you're rooting for the clothes--coaches, GMs, and even owners.

(Remember: Bruce Ratner, Mikhail Prokhorov, and Joe Tsai, with some overlapping co-ownership.)

The Nets' rebuild enabled them to snag superstars in the 2019 off-season to contend for a championship.

But the "player empowerment" era has been tumultuous.

Kevin Durant was rehabbing in the 2019-20 season. The 2020-21 season--by far their best--was stymied by the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in a very close playoff series.

And Kyrie Irving's refusal to get vaccinated (and his subsequent benching for part of the season) meant a wobbly and unsuccessful 2021-22 season, including the departure of come-and-go star James Harden.

What about the playoffs?

The Nets appeared in the playoffs in seven out of their ten seasons, but only in two seasons--2013-14 and 2020-21--did they advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

That meant they missed the conference finals and league finals, both of which would've helped build the fan base and deliver more revenue to the team owners (which also operate the Barclays Center).

Via Real GM