History of the Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets, a professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, was founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans, later the New Jersey Nets. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as an original member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In 2012 they moved to Brooklyn and were renamed the Brooklyn Nets.
New York Knicks
The Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets, are the Knicks' closest rival geographically. Both teams play in New York City, with the Knicks in Manhattan and the Nets in Brooklyn. Media outlets have noted the Knicks-Nets rivalry's similarity to those of other New York City teams, such as Major League Baseball's Subway Series rivalry between the American League's New York Yankees and the National League's New York Mets, due to both boroughs' proximity through the New York City Subway. Historically, the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn competed via the Dodgers–Giants rivalry, when the two teams were known as the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants. Like the Knicks and Nets, the Giants and Dodgers played in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively, and were fierce divisional rivals. The rivalry between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League also have this distinction when the Islanders moved to Brooklyn in 2015. Due to the Knicks and Nets being located in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, some media outlets have dubbed this rivalry "Clash of the Boroughs". The Knicks and Nets have met in the playoffs three times, with the Knicks winning two of the three meetings. The Knicks defeated the Nets in the playoffs in 1983 and 1994, while the Nets won their most recent meeting in 2004.