The Brooklyn Nets announced on Wednesday that they are having a special night to celebrate the time they almost became the Swamp Dragons back in the 1990s.
Wait, what? The Nets almost became the Swamp Dragons? Yes. Yes, they did. They came really, really close to becoming the Swamp Dragons.
“One of the most memorable ‘what ifs’ in basketball history will come to life as fans celebrate the unforgettable identity that ‘almost was,’” the Brooklyn Nets said in a press release.
Swamp Dragons Night will be one of six special nights next season for the Nets
The celebration will take place on Jan. 29 as one of the “Eras Nights” during the franchise’s 60th season. According to the Nets, the Eras Nights will be “a six-game series that will transform game day at Barclays Center into different chapters of Nets history.”
Nov. 18 will be ABA Night honoring “the championship teams, innovations and the Julius Erving-led era that helped establish the Nets as one of basketball’s most forward-thinking organizations.”
80s Night will take place on Dec.18 and honor “the franchise’s move to New Jersey and the emergence of homegrown stars such as Buck Williams.”
On Jan. 9, the Nets will celebrate 90s night, “honoring one of the most influential eras in franchise history.”
2000s Night will occur on Mar. 15 and celebrate “the franchise’s most successful era on the court.”
And on Mar. 31, Hello Brooklyn Night will mark the franchise’s arrival in Brooklyn.
Each night will feature a special giveaway, including Julius Erving, Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovic and Swamp Dragons bobbleheads; an Eastern Conference Finals mystery box featuring bobbleheads of the 2000s-era Nets; and a mystery giveaway celebrating the Hello Brooklyn era.
But wait, what about the Nets almost becoming the Swamp Dragons?
According to The Athletic, the Nets almost changed their name to the New Jersey Swamp Dragons in 1995 after then-NBA creative director Tom O’Grady received a new branding idea from team president Jon Spoelstra, the father of current Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
After relocating from Long Island to New Jersey in 1977, the Nets had terrible attendance in the mid-1990s, and Spoelstra felt his team was having trouble emerging from the shadow of the New York Knicks.
Spoelstra told ESPN in 2016 that he liked the “Dragons” team name after it was as a finalist for the expansion Toronto franchise that became the Raptors. He added the “Swamp” in homage to the Meadowlands, where the team played its games.
“The Dragon came up right away, but we needed something to identify it locally. I was sitting in my office with Jim Lampariello, our vice president, and I just said, ‘Every time I look out the window here, I see this swamp. And every time I think of swamps, I think of swamp rats. What about that?’” Spoelstra said.
“He just said, ‘I don’t think that’s very nice. What about Swamp Dragons?’ I loved it. Dragons are mythical, and fun.”
Not everyone loved the idea. In fact, then-NBA commissioner David Stearn told Spoelstra that it was “the stupidest f—— idea” he had ever heard, but he let it be put to a vote.
The NBA board of governors approved the name, logo, and color change by a vote of 26 to 1. All seven New Jersey owners had already approved the rebranding before the board of governors meeting, but David Gerstein, a Nets co-owner who voted that day, ultimately voted against it.
“We voted against our own name change,” Spoelstra recalled. “I thought (Stern) was kidding. If your own team votes no, you can’t go ahead with something like this.”