{"id":293587,"date":"2026-07-12T02:02:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T02:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/293587\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T02:02:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T02:02:46","slug":"remembering-nic-claxtons-time-with-the-brooklyn-nets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/293587\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Nic Claxton’s Time with the Brooklyn Nets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nic Claxton was recently dealt to the Chicago Bulls in a multi-team trade that sent<\/a> Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

The Georgia product came to Brooklyn during the most eventful time in franchise history. The team had just signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and was roughly a year and a half away from trading for James Harden.<\/p>\n

Out went Jarrett Allen in the deal that sent Harden to Brooklyn, and with DeAndre Jordan seeing a considerable decline in his game, the pressure was on for Claxton to step into a bigger role.<\/p>\n

Claxton showed flashes, including an and-1 alley-oop slam over LeBron James on Christmas Day in 2021, which effectively served as the game-winner.<\/p>\n

NIC CLAXTON THROWS DOWN THE OOP OVER BRON \ud83e\udd2f pic.twitter.com\/dqsdozz5iA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 26, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

However, he was also consistently outrebounded by more physical bigs and couldn’t buy a free throw when the Boston Celtics unceremoniously swept the Nets in the first round of the 2022 playoffs.<\/p>\n

Though Claxton hasn’t been able to fully overcome those weaknesses, he eventually developed into a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and looked to be the big man who could help Durant and Irving bring an NBA championship to Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

Claxton thrived in the pick-and-roll, as a rim roller and lob threat alongside Durant and Irving. He also anchored the defense inside and overwhelmed his opponents of all sizes at the level.<\/p>\n

Claxton still embraced NetsWorld even after the 7\/11 era ended abruptly and he continued to develop his all-around game and leadership skills.<\/p>\n

Claxton always found a way to connect with his new teammates, adjust to their playstyle and develop great chemistry with them on and off the floor despite the ugly box scores and less-than-ideal record.<\/p>\n

Claxton especially developed a nice rapport with Michael Porter Jr.<\/a>, helping set the Nets’ leading scorer up for clean looks off of pick-and-roll, curling and cutting actions.<\/p>\n

Claxton’s playmaking skills and ability to push the ball up court helped him assimilate into the modern NBA as a big man, and his defensive versatility is exactly how he can contribute to a winning team despite having some limitations as a rim protector.<\/p>\n

But his fiery energy on the court and calm demeanor and poise off it helped keep spirits high in a locker room that surely experienced its fair share of frustrations, which is why Claxton will always be remembered fondly<\/a> by the majority of the Nets’ fanbase and his former teammates and coaches.<\/p>\n

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