The Long Island Nets will be honoring Mayor Don Ryan and Julius "Dr. J" Erving at the season opener game on November 4th at Nassau Coliseum!

Julius "Dr. J" Erving will present Mayor Ryan with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to Hempstead and neighboring communities on Long Island.

Julius Erving’s jersey will be also be retired during a pregame ceremony.

Don't miss this very special event happening on Saturday, November 4, 2017 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 6:30pm sharp! The game will start at 7pm.

To learn more visit longislandnets.com.

LONG ISLAND NETS TO HONOR JULIUS “DR. J” ERVING AND VILLAGE OF HEMPSTEAD MAYOR DON RYAN AT SEASON OPENER ON NOVEMBER 4

Erving to present Ryan with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to communities on Long Island

Julius Erving’s jersey to be retired during a pregame ceremony

The Long Island Nets will honor legendary player Julius “Dr. J” Erving and the Village of Hempstead Mayor Don Ryan at their season opener on Saturday, November 4, when the Nets host the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

During the game, Erving will present Mayor Ryan with the Long Island Nets’ first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award. Ryan will be recognized for his community contributions as a local civic leader, coach, and teacher. Ryan coached and mentored Erving, who was 12 at the time, while volunteering as the Biddy Basketball coach at the Salvation Army’s Hempstead headquarters.

In conjunction with the season-long celebration of bringing professional basketball back to Long Island, the Long Island Nets will be retiring Erving’s #32 jersey for the first time ever at the Coliseum. Erving spent three years with the ABA’s New York Nets, winning two ABA championships in 1974 and 1976, and earning the MVP Award three times. The jersey retirement ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m., 30 minutes prior to tipoff. The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a replica Dr. J jersey mini banner to commemorate the celebration.

“The opportunity to honor two of Long Island basketball’s biggest legends is very important to the lineage of the Long Island Nets,” said Alton Byrd, VP of Business Operations for the Long Island Nets. “Both Julius and Don represent all that is good about basketball on the Island. Both men are etched in history of the Coliseum, the Nets organization, and within the basketball community as men of high integrity who have provided many young men and women with guidance, mentorship, and key life experiences on which to build a foundation.”

“I am humbled and honored to receive this award,” said Hempstead Village Mayor Don Ryan. “To have it presented by the legendary Julius Erving, who I coached as a youngster in Hempstead Village, makes it that much more special. Congratulations to Dr. J. for his well-deserved award as well. It’s great to see professional basketball return to the Coliseum. I thank the Long Island Nets for this special recognition and wish the organization nothing but success in the season ahead.”

Individual tickets, season ticket memberships, flex plans, and group tickets to games are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 844.LINETS.1 or by contacting tickets@longislandnets.com.

About the Long Island Nets
The Long Island Nets are the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. In the team’s inaugural 2016-17 season, the Long Island Nets played home games at Barclays Center and practiced at HSS Training Center in Brooklyn. NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which recently reopened after extensive renovation, will become the permanent home for the team beginning with the 2017-18 season. For more information, please visit longislandnets.com and follow @longislandnets on Twitter and Instagram.