For the second consecutive season, sportsbooks are projecting the Brooklyn Nets to finish towards the bottom of the NBA. The team's over/under win projection for 2025-26 opened at 20.5, tied for the second-lowest in the NBA, per FanDuel.
NBA insider Tim Bontemps called tanking a necessity for the Nets while giving his over/under prediction.
“I will take the under,” Bontemps said on ESPN's The Hoop Collective. “It would not shock me if they go over. Obviously, Jordi Fernandez did a tremendous job last year and showed he can really coach. But this team has to be in the top five [of the draft] next year. I suspect this year is gonna go like Utah did last year, where they are going to do everything they can to make sure that they are, if not the worst record in the league, right there instead of being somewhere in the middle of the lottery where they were last year.”
Brooklyn's win total projection was as low as 18.5 entering last season. The team got off to a surprise 9-10 start, eventually surpassing 18 wins with over two months left in the regular season.
However, there's reason to believe the Nets will get off to a slower start next year.
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Veterans Dennis Schroder, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith fueled the Nets' surprise start last season. General Manager Sean Marks traded all three over the last year. He replaced Johnson and Finney-Smith with Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann.
Meanwhile, the Nets enter this season without a veteran point guard on the roster. Brooklyn's rotation will feature three rookie ball-handlers in Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf. While all three boast intriguing potential, rookie point guards typically struggle while making the jump to the NBA.
“They’re going to be playing a ton of rookies a ton of minutes. A lot of these rookies are interesting players, but it’s a lot of ball-handlers who are not good shooters. They’re gonna be playing a lot of young guards in general,” Bontempts said. “Egor Demin, the eighth overall pick, I’m sure he will be starting at point guard. I’m sure he’s gonna have the ball in his hands a ton. That is gonna be good for his development, and it’s gonna be good for losing games and trying to get a top-five pick, which they really need to do.”
Only the Utah Jazz (18.5) have a lower win total than the Nets next season. The Washington Wizards are tied with Brooklyn for the NBA's second-lowest projection.
