Brooklyn Nets preseason preview and schedule

The word is out and it's official: The Brooklyn Nets are cool, hip and in complete demand.

Nets attire, their black-and-white logo that combines old and new school has found itself on the attire of pop stars, actors and casual NBA fans. The new Barclays Center is fresh. The buzz around downtown Brooklyn, Sheepshead Bay and surrounding areas is palpable.

Both Sports Illustrated and the NBA are on board. SI made point guard Deron Williams its first Nets cover since Jason Kidd in 2003 and first Brooklyn sports personality since Dodgers reliever Clem Labine on June 3, 1957. Next Tuesday, NBA TV debuts "The Association," a behind-the-scenes documentary that this season stars the Brooklyn Nets.

"Brooklyn has more hoops heritage in its parks than Harlem, the Bronx, West 4th St., Philly, Chicago, L.A., anywhere," writs Rick Telander, the author of a story that takes the reader through the heart of Brooklyn and its basketball culture.

The appetite of fans old and new of the Brooklyn Nets will start getting whetted on Saturday when the Nets open the 2012 preseason in Atlantic City, N.J., against the Philadelphia 76ers. Then on Monday, the team tests its new court at the Barclays Center for the first time in game action when the Washington Wizards visit Brooklyn.

Following a road game in Boston, the Nets play two more in Brooklyn before closing the preseason at Nassau Coliseum on Long Island against the New York Knicks. That game will be a warmup to the greatly anticipated affair between the two city rivals on November 1 at the Barclays Center that will kick off the 2012-13 NBA season.

Nets preseason schedule

Saturday, October 13: vs. 76ers at Atlantic City
Monday, October 15: vs. Wizards
Tuesday, October 16: at Celtics
Thursday, October 18: vs. Celtics
Friday, October 19: vs. 76ers
Wednesday, October 24: vs. Knicks in Uniondale, N.Y.

Follow Jon Lane on Twitter: @JonLaneNYC