Brooklyn Nets News: Former New Jersey All-Star Has Surprising Take On Home Fans

The Brooklyn Nets are oft-maligned for their status as New York's second team. The Knicks have long captured the imagination of all New Yorkers, across all five boroughs. That is due, in part, to the Nets' being the new kids on the block. Sort of. The team got its start in the ABA as the New Jersey Americans in 1967, then shipped off to Long Island in 1968, rebranding as the New York Nets and winning a pair of titles before returning to Jersey in '77. It ditched Jersey for good (for now?) in 2012.

One of the club's top talents near the end of its Garden State tenure was Brooklyn native Stephon Marbury. The 6'2" Georgia Tech product earned one All-NBA Third Team appearance and one All-Star berth while on the club, from 1999-2001. Marbury reflected on the experience while in conversation with New Jersey natives Tim Thomas, a longtime former NBA big man, and Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on their fresh podcast, No Nonsense.

"You know, playing for New Jersey during that time, my best memories was when the arena used to be full because -- you go to a Nets game and it's scattered to the point where you hear them say, 'Everyone at the top, come down to the front!' And used to be mad as hell about that!" Marbury conceded. "Especially when I was playing in Minnesota and went to New Jersey after the atmosphere and environment started to change."

"I was like, 'Oh okay. This is getting better but through injuries it just got complacent as far as how things started to go....' But playing in New Jersey, the fans always showed mad love and the reason why I really loved it was because we really had the support when we went to Secaucus," Marbury said. "People that were coming to the game because the Meadowlands were in an open area with nothing around it [laughs]. But if you go there now, it's so many different things there like the Giants and Jets. But during those days when you were going to a game, you KNEW you were going to a New Jersey Nets game because you knew you had to take a little hike especially coming from Brooklyn.

"Steph was on a rampage for the first two years there," Thomas weighed in. "He was going crazy over there catching alley-oops and stuff and I had my other brother Vince Carter get a chance to play in Jersey but yeah, Steph was killing it at that moment. You always want your own team to do well even though I grew up a Knicks fan, you know?"

"But yeah man, I always wanted to put on that Nets jersey man," Thomas noted. "That's something that STILL bothers me to this day." During his 13-year NBA run from 1997-2009, the 6'10" big man may not have played for the Nets, but he did suit up for the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks.