Jan. 17, 2026, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.
Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.
To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And for today’s article, we will continue with the fourth of 14 people to wear the No. 40 jersey, forward alum George Carter. After ending his college career at St. Bonaventure, Carter was picked up with the 81st overall selection of the 1967 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
The Buffalo, New York native played the first seasons of his pro career with Detroit. He also played for the ABA’s (defunct) Washington Capitals, (defunct) Virginia Squires, (also defunct) Pittsburgh Condors, and (yep, defunct) Carolina Cougars before he was traded to the (then) New York (now, Brooklyn) Nets in 1973.
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His stay with the team lasted until he was dealt again, this time to the (defunct) Virginia Squires in 1974. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Carter wore only jersey No. 40 and put up 19.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.