The 1985–86 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' tenth season in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

.1985–86 New Jersey Nets
/ref> After starting the first half of the season strong with a 23–14 record, the Nets lost star

Micheal Ray Richardson Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft, Richardson played in ...

due to a lifetime ban from the NBA due to repeated drug offenses and

Darryl Dawkins Darryl R. Dawkins (January 11, 1957 – August 27, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He was particularly known for his tenure with the National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he als ...

to injuries, and then stumbled and went 16–29, finishing with a 39–43 record and barely making it into the playoffs.

Draft picks

Roster

;Roster notes * The Nets let F

Rod Higgins Roderick Dwayne Higgins (born January 31, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who formerly served as president of basketball operations for the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets. He is also the father of fo ...

's 10-day contract expire. * C

Yvon Joseph Yvon Joseph (born October 31, 1957) is a retired Haitian basketball player. He played collegiately at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball, Georgia Tech and appeared in one game in the National Basketball Association. Joseph was the fir ...

was waived after playing 1 game in the NBA. * G

received a lifetime ban on February 25 after he violated the league's drug policy three times.

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

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Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

L 107–119
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Buck Williams Charles Linwood "Buck" Williams (born March 8, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. He was well known for his rebounding ability and trademark goggles. Williams, ...

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Birdsong Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs (relatively complex vocalizations) are distinguished by func ...

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

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MECCA Arena Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valle ...

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L 97–111
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Mike Gminski Michael Thomas Gminski (born August 3, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player and a college basketball TV analyst for CBS Sports. In 2003, Gminski, of Polish descent, was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall ...

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Darwin Cook Darwin Louis Cook (born August 6, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. Playing career Cook played for the University of Portland from 1976 to 1980, and was selected by the Detroit Pistons with 70th overall pick in the 1980 N ...

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L 113–118
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Otis Birdsong Otis Lee Birdsong (born December 9, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. He spent twelve seasons (1977–1989) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and appeared in four NBA All-Star Games. A guard who attended Wint ...

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Kelvin Ransey Kelvin Ransey (born May 3, 1958) is a retired American collegiate and professional basketball player of the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Ransey attended Toledo's Macomber High School in the mid-1970s. He was a four-year starter at Ohio State U ...

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Brendan Byrne Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor arena facility located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The arena is located on N ...

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also