Brooklyn Nets Launch All-Access Summer League Special

Using the NFL’s “Hard Knocks” format, the Brooklyn Nets have launched their own version of a behind-the-scenes reality show for the second year in a row, with players and coaches providing exclusive insights on the organization’s official YouTube channel.

“We’ve been in the gym all summer, just getting reps together,” Jalen Wilson said. “We’re building that chemistry. Last year we had good reps, and now this year we have another opportunity to play and prove ourselves.”

In this special feature, Nets fans got their first look at new head coach Jordi Fernandez’s on-court philosophy.

“What’s best for the team? To get in the cut, running to the corner, passing the ball on time, on goal,” Fernandez said. “The hard work you put in is now to be done in the first game and show everyone what the identity of this group is.”

Fernandez’s emphasis on creating an identity appears to be working. Brooklyn erased a 15-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers in overtime in the summer league opener.

“The fact that (Fernandez) came in here and had experience in the G League, the summer league and all that stuff, just for me, Noah (Clowney), J-Wil, all those young guys, knowing that we have a coach that believes in the process, he’s going to want us to figure it out quickly,” Dariq Whitehead said of Fernandez. “But also, (he’s) going to take his time with us in that development process.”

A focus on development is Fernandez’s calling card. He’s known around the league as one of the best at developing talent, and he’s now implementing that philosophy on a Nets team in dire need of an identity.

The entire 16-minute film can be viewed here.

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