I thought it would be fun to write about the Knicks and Nets rivalry. It cracked me up with what they have been doing to get under each other’s skins.

Some History

Being separated by approximately 8 miles, the Knicks and the Nets share a fierce rivalry that dates back to the Nets entry to the NBA.  The Nets and had to give up their superstar Julius Erving as a penalty for taking some of the spotlight from the Knicks. It is noteworthy that the Knicks have always gotten more media props, regardless of the performance of the two teams. Furthermore, the residents of New Jersey get jabs about their state from New Yorkers.

Nets trade for Jason Kidd by giving away Stephon Marbury

The animosity went up even further at the start of the 2000s. With the trade of Jason Kidd from the Suns in return for Stephon Marbury came a promise from Kidd that the Nets would beat the Knicks regularly and make it a real rivalry. This was in response to the inconsistency in the media coverage between the Knicks and the Nets that had been going on for an extensive period of time.

In 2004, Marbury was traded to the Knicks. Kidd and Marbury had a rivalry of their own with Kidd being named the top point guard in the league[1], but Marbury continued to state that he was the NBA’s best point guard regardless.[2]

Prokhorov-Jay Z poster in front of MSG

The rivalry between the New York and New Jersey ball clubs will heat up once the Nets relocate to Brooklyn, NY for the 2012-2013 season. Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, bought the Nets in 2010 and has taken great pleasure in reigniting the fire that exists between the two teams.  A large attention-grabbing billboard featuring images of Prokhorov and the Nets celebrity minority owner, Jay-Z, with the words, "Blueprint for Greatness", overlooks Madison Square Garden! Rumor has it that the owner of the Knicks, James Dolan, was angered by this and complained about the billboard placement to the league.[3]

The Knicks have also taken shots at the Nets' promotional tools with a radio advertisement stating "Hey Nets. You can walk like us, you can talk like us, but you ain't never gonna be like us". Prokhorov was able to comeback with a strong reply by saying that he preferred the Nets to be more like the Lakers who have won 17 NBA championships.[4]