The Brooklyn Nets have been playing like one of the best teams in the month of December mostly due to how much they have improved on the defensive end of the floor. Brooklyn had a tough test ahead of them heading into December given that they would be facing tougher competition, but they have handled themselves well and the public is recognizing their play.
“The Nets are 7-3 in December and their first three-game winning streak of the season has come against three teams – Toronto, Philadelphia and Minnesota – with winning records,” John Schuhmann wrote in his latest NBA power rankings for NBA.com. After beating the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday 123-107, the Nets’ public relations team noted that Brooklyn has the fifth-best winning percentage in the month (.700).
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“The Nets’ defensive turnaround remains remarkable. It bears repeating that they ranked 29th defensively (just a hair better than the Wizards) through Nov. 30, and have had the league’s No. 1 defense (by a healthy margin) this month,” Schuhmann continued. “They’ve held nine of their 10 December opponents (including each of the last seven) under the league average for efficiency.”
While the Nets took advantage of an easier schedule to begin December, their five games to end the month, including Monday’s matchup against the Golden State Warriors, are against teams that are at least .500 or better. Brooklyn lost to the Miami Heat 106-95 earlier this month, but since then, the Nets have beaten the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and the aforementioned Timberwolves.
While Brooklyn’s offense has not necessarily improved that much over the course of the season, the fact that the defense has improved from 29th in defensive rating to 18th is remarkable. Time will tell if this defensive improvement will stick around heading into 2026, but for now, the Nets are being recognized for the work they’ve done from being one of the worst defensive teams in league history to being one of the best defensive units in just a short amount of time.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets rank 21st in NBA.com power rankings (Dec. 29 update)