Brooklyn Nets
After the Nets' move to Brooklyn, the team introduced a new superhero mascot named BrooklyKnight (a pun on the demonym "Brooklynite") on November 3, 2012. In his first appearance, he was lowered from the ceiling of the Barclays Center amid sparks and fanfare and introduced by Nets PA announcer David Diamante: "Here to defend Brooklyn, he's the BrooklyKnight." The mascot was co-created by Marvel Entertainment, a sister company to NBA broadcasters ABC and ESPN. The character also starred in 32-page comic book published by Marvel titled "BrooklyKnight #1", written by Jason Aaron with art by Mike Deodato. After the Nets' second season in Brooklyn, the BrooklyKnight mascot was retired.
Sports in the New York metropolitan area
At Madison Square Garden, New Yorkers can watch the New York Knicks play NBA basketball. Through the 2017 WNBA season, the New York Liberty also played at the Garden, but that team's main home has now changed to the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn is home to the Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball team. The Nets began playing in Brooklyn in 2012, the first major professional sports team to play in the historic borough in half a century. Before the merger of the defunct American Basketball Association with the NBA during the 1976–77 season, the New York Nets, who shared the same home arena (Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) on Long Island with the NHL's New York Islanders, were a two-time champion in the ABA and starred the famous Hall of Fame forward Julius Erving. During the first season of the merger (1976–77), the Nets continued to play on Long Island, although Erving's contract had by then been sold to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Nets transferred to New Jersey then next season and became known as the New Jersey Nets, and later moved to Brooklyn prior to the 2012–13 NBA season.
The Knicks have won two NBA titles (1969–70 and 1972–73). The 1970 title was particularly memorable, as there was a question before the pivotal Game 7 in Madison Square Garden as to whether star center Willis Reed of the Knicks, who had been injured in Game 5 and missed Game 6, would be able to play. But after both teams had already begun their pre-game shooting practice and warm-ups, Reed suddenly appeared at the court in uniform before an astonished crowd at Madison Square Garden, and when the game began, he started at center and hit the first two baskets for the Knicks, inspiring his team to a 113–99 victory. Reed's inspiring appearance in Game 7 is usually considered among the most dramatic sequences in NBA history and ranks third in the NBA 60 Greatest Playoff Moments. Despite the Knicks' comparative lack of championships, NBA lore has been enriched with the team's many exciting playoff battles through the years with such fierce rivals as the Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics.