Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 50 - Vladimir Stepania (2000-01)
The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA, with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.
And for today's article, we will continue with the fourth of seven people to wear the No. 50 jersey, big man alum Vladimir Stepania. After starting his pro career abroad, Stepania was picked up with the 28th overall selection of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Seattle SuperSonics.
The Tbilisi, Georgia native played the first two seasons of his pro career with Seattle, coming to an end when he was dealt to and cut by the New York Knicks in 2000. He signed with the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets in December of that year and stayed with the team until he signed with the Miami Heat in 2001. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Stepania wore only jersey No.
50 and put up 2. 8 points and 3. 8 rebounds per game.
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference. This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets jersey history No. 50 - Vladimir Stepania (2000-01)