Turnpike Team

Lukasz Muniowski (Ph.D., American literature, University of Warsaw) has written numerous academic articles on various topics, including gentrification, geek culture, American literature, video games and television series. He lives in Poland.

“For much of their history, the Brooklyn/New Jersey Nets have been a forgettable NBA franchise, seemingly rightfully overshadowed in basketball culture by more glamorous franchises with star-studded, championship traditions. While the arrival of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2019 vaulted the Brooklyn Nets into the relevancy the franchise long had sought, Łukasz Muniowski’s Turnpike Team suggests that the longer, often uninspiring history of the New Jersey iterations of the Nets is worthy of attention and analysis. Muniowski illuminates the Nets’ long struggle for relevancy, one repeatedly beset by location, demographics, and mismanagement. Muniowski’s history productively provides insight into the messiness of the average NBA franchise, where success is fleeting and no banners fly forever.”—Cat M. Ariail, author of Passing the Baton: Black Women Track Stars and American Identity

• Table of ContentsIntroduction: Hello, Brooklyn1. ABA to NBA, Jersey to New York to Jersey2. Trading, Leaving, Winning3. Good Luck, Buck4. New Logo, New Problems5. Imagine Swamp Dragons6. Truth or Dare7. A New Hope8. All Alone9. What the Kidd Did10. As Close as It Gets11. The Beginning of the End12. Two Carters13. The Fall14. Goodbye, JerseyChapter NotesBibliographyIndex