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The Brooklyn Nets are likely one of the few teams that NBA fans think about when it comes to the thought of what could have been. For example, during the 2020-21 season, Brooklyn was considered one of the contenders for the championship with the pairing of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving until things went awry.
“If (Milwaukee Bucks superstar) Giannis (Antetokounmpo) ain’t put his foot under [Irving], they would’ve had a championship,” Dallas Mavericks forward Markieff Morris said of the Nets during their second-round playoffs series against the Bucks, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. The play that Morris, who was playing for the Los Angeles Lakers at the team, is referring to happened in Game 3 of the series when Irving went up for a layup only to land on the foot of Milwaukee’s Antetokounmpo.
Brooklyn was leading the series 2-0 heading into the game and the Nets were hanging with the Bucks in Game 3 until things changed with Irving’s injury. Brooklyn still took Milwaukee to seven games in the series, but lost Game 7 in overtime despite the fact that Durant hit a clutch shot with seconds remaining to force the game into overtime while infamously having a foot on the three-point line.
“Milwaukee would still be without a championship,” Morris explained. “I know so. They were going to get swept. They know that. You can ask anybody on their team.” Jeff Teague, a member of the Bucks that year, later admitted on a podcast in the beginning of May that if Irving did not get hurt that the Nets would have won that series.
While every postseason in the NBA comes down to unpredictable aspects such as injury luck, it’s clear that Brooklyn’s biggest what-if moment was what that series could have been if Irving did not hurt his ankle. That was the last that Nets fans knew of a title-contending team as Harden was traded at the following season’s trade deadline and Irving and Durant were traded away the season after that.
Kyrie Irving appeared to roll his ankle while landing on the foot of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Irving limped to the locker room on his own. pic.twitter.com/CTxMM9s4nq
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 13, 2021
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“Y’all probably would have won that motherf****r. Let’s keep it real.”
Jeff Teague believes the Nets would have beaten the Bucks in 2021 if Kyrie didn’t get hurt. pic.twitter.com/NRNV5tQa2b
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) May 5, 2023
