Brooklyn Nets Will Host Inaugural Nets Fest Sunday
The franchise replaces its traditional open practice with an indoor fan event in Crown Heights.
Updated on Oct. 3, 2026 in Basketball
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The Brooklyn Nets will hold the first ever Nets Fest on October 6, 2026, at the Major Owens Community Center. This free public event shifts the team's annual fan tradition from a basketball practice into a day of player-fan engagement.
Why it matters
By moving the event indoors and focusing on interactive Q&As and autographs, the Nets aim to create more direct connections between their players and the broader community. This change marks a departure from the traditional outdoor practice drills held since 2017.
Nets Fest is scheduled for a four-hour duration, running from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. The team is currently holding the event as part of its celebration of the organization's 60th season.
The players
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are a professional basketball team that currently competes in the Eastern Conference of the NBA.
The details
The event will feature meet-and-greets, autograph sessions, and panels held at the indoor Major Owens Community Center in Crown Heights. The organization chose this new format to prioritize accessibility and interaction for fans over the basketball-focused drills that characterized previous years at Potomac Playground.
Timeline
The Practice in the Park event series launched in 2017.
The team moved its practice event to Potomac Playground in 2024.
Nets Fest takes place on Sunday, October 6, 2026, from noon to 4 p.m.
Season Trajectory
The shift from practice-based events to fan-engagement festivals follows a wider trend of NBA teams prioritizing accessible, year-round community programming. This change signals an effort by the Brooklyn Nets to build deeper local loyalty during the team's 60th season.
Fans attending the free four-hour event in Crown Heights can expect direct access to players through panels and autograph sessions rather than observing team drills. This transition provides a new opportunity for supporters to engage with the roster in an indoor, climate-controlled venue.
The takeaway
The move to a festival format reflects a strategic shift toward prioritizing community connection over traditional sports demonstrations. Fans looking to attend should prepare for a high volume of interactive programming rather than typical athletic drills.
What happens next
The organization will evaluate attendance and feedback from this inaugural event to determine the official format for the fan-team event in the following season.
Further reading
Learn more about the team by visiting our Basketball coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Daily News.
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