Cam Johnson sounds off on Nets fans rooting for tank during team's winning streak

The Brooklyn Nets are eyeing the postseason amid a 6-1 stretch over their last seven games. Following Wednesday's 100-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the supposedly tanking squad is 1.5 games out of the Eastern Conference play-in. They've also notably fallen into a tie with the 76ers for sixth place in the draft lottery standings.

A large contingent of the Nets fanbase has voiced concerns about the team's declining draft lottery odds. Brooklyn's players couldn't care less.

“We don't care. We do not care what they say about that,” Cam Johnson said. “Listen, at the end of the day, the 15, 18 guys on his team have a job to do, and our job is to not try to get a draft pick. Our job is simply to win basketball games, the basketball games that are in front of us, and that’s what we're going to put our full effort towards. We don't care about all that other noise.

If that's what they think, then they're not really a fan. They don't want us to succeed. You're going to ask our own players to lose? We're not going to do that. We're out there to compete, to win every game.”

Many presumed Nets management would be all-in on a tank after resetting the team's timeline this offseason. After trading Mikal Bridges, general manager Sean Marks traded three highly valued first-round picks and one swap via the Phoenix Suns (2025, 2027, 2029) and Dallas Mavericks (2029) to reacquire Brooklyn's 2025 and 2026 first-round picks from the Houston Rockets.

Following a surprise 9-11 start, Marks took measures to course-correct the team's tank. He traded veterans Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith — players many felt should have been moved during the offseason following the Bridges trade — and recently bought out Ben Simmons. A 2-15 stretch last month, during which several key players missed extended periods, had pulled the Nets within two games of top-three lottery odds.

However, to the dismay of many fans, their recent surge has plummeted them back down the lottery standings.

Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton react to pro-tanking fans amid Nets winning streak

A pro-tanking sentiment is understandable for a Nets fanbase that has not seen a homegrown superstar in the franchise's history. The Nets haven't drafted in the lottery since 2010, when they missed out on John Wall and took Derrick Favors third overall. In the decade and a half since, fans have seen a revolving door of aging superstars who performed below expectations and were quick to move on after the team's failures.

That may be why Nic Claxton, the team's longest-tenured player, took a more understanding approach to the fanbase's gripes.

“It’s a part of the business. We’re not naive to it. The fans are upset when we win. That’s just what it is. It’s just a part of it. But we work so hard every single day, so we can’t try to lose games,” Claxton said. “We’re gonna go out and try to win every game, but I understand where the fans are coming from. I feel why they would want us to lose this year and everything. I feel them. But we wanna win.”

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Pro-tank Nets fans should direct their ire at ownership and the front office. Players play to win, especially when several are attempting to earn new contracts. While coaches are sometimes caught in the middle of a tanking agenda, Jordi Fernandez has made it clear that he's coaching to win, and he's done so effectively.

The prospect of a play-in birth has added a jolt to Brooklyn's locker room.

“We wanna get there. We wanna get to the playoffs,” Claxton said. “There’s a lot of people in here that have never been to the playoffs. They’ve never felt that atmosphere and that energy. It’s one of the best things, one of the best stages in sports. We wanna get there.”

“When Dennis [Schroder] got traded, we were playing well, and then we started losing all those games, and it was tough for everybody. Myself included. Just getting up for the games [was tough]. But now we’re finding it again. We’re finding that swagger; we’re finding that joy.”

A defensive surge has fueled Brooklyn's recent success. The Nets rank 26th in offense during the 6-1 stretch. However, they've been the NBA's best defense, allowing 95.4 points per game on 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 31.2 percent from three.

Claxton has led the charge. Following a slow start to the season, the sixth-year center has averaged 3.1 blocks over the last seven games. He rejected five shots during Wednesday's win over the 76ers.

After remaining with the team through the trade deadline, Cam Johnson has continued to provide a steady veteran presence. D'Angelo Russell snapped out of recent struggles against Philadelphia, scoring 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting. And Trendon Watford has been effective in an expanded ball-handling role following Simmons' buyout, averaging 14.3 points and 3.0 assists on 63 percent shooting over the last three games.

Cam Thomas' return will further aid Brooklyn's playoff push. The team's leading scorer has been sidelined since Jan. 2 due to a left hamstring strain, his second of the season.

As the Nets' rise in the standings draws play-in hype, Fernandez is cautioning his players to approach the stretch run one game at a time.

“It's been the consistency of working every day because if you think about that [2-15] stretch, whether we had guys out or not, we also lost close games,” Fernandez said. “The consistency in competing and working has been there. We [can't] get caught into watching just the wins and losses. I know that's your guys' job, but not mine. Looking at the big picture and staying the course of things, working and believing in what we're doing, that's the most important thing. And this group of guys have done a great job.”