Fantasy aligned with reality when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving came to Brooklyn last summer. Now, the Nets are dreaming big again.

Preparing for one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history, the Nets — who were swept from the first round of the playoffs by the Raptors on Sunday — are exploring the possibility of luring five-time champion Gregg Popovich out of San Antonio to become Brooklyn’s next head coach, according to The Athletic.

Popovich, 71, recently said he intends to continue coaching — following the end of the Spurs’ 22-year playoff streak — but the Nets may need a miracle to pry the legend from San Antonio, where he has spent 30 years over two stints and is the longest-tenured head coach in American professional sports, first assuming the position in 1996.

Brooklyn’s biggest draw is a pair of superstars who will make the Nets instant contenders next season and potentially give Popovich his final chance at another championship. Popovich, who is third all-time in wins and a three-time NBA Coach of the Year, also has numerous ties to Nets personnel who previously worked or played for him, including general manager Sean Marks and assistant general manager Andy Birdsong, as well as assistant coaches Bret Brielmaier and Tiago Splitter.

If Popovich was somehow persuaded to abandon the franchise he helped mold into one of the most successful and respected in sports history, he still remains under contract for another two seasons — at a league-high $11 million per season — meaning the Nets would almost certainly be required to compensate the Spurs. In 2013, the Clippers parted with a first-round pick to acquire head coach Doc Rivers from the Celtics.

Following the Nets’ firing of Kenny Atkinson in March, rumors of a reunion between Popovich and Marks started surfacing publicly.

“Pop has a job. So, I will say that,” Marks said last month on WFAN. “And, obviously, we all know he’s an amazing, amazing coach, and to be quite frank, an even better leader. So, I’ll let Pop continue to coach for the Spurs. He owes it to them and they owe it to him. I’m sure he’s quite happy there.”

According to ESPN, Durant and Irving are pushing for the Nets to hire an accomplished, high-profile head coach, such as Popovich. The Athletic also reported that Durant is particularly fond of Popovich, citing a deep mutual respect.

In the more likely event that Popovich remains in his longtime home, Marks will strongly consider elevating interim head coach Jacque Vaughn into the full-time role, according to ESPN. Vaughn, who played and coached under Popovich in San Antonio, went 7-3 after taking over the team, clinching the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and going 5-3 after arriving to the Orlando bubble with a severely shorthanded roster without Durant, Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler and Nicolas Claxton. Of course, that was before losing four straight to Toronto in the playoffs.

Vaughn, 45, previously spent parts of three seasons as head coach of the Magic, going 58-158.

“If you ask anybody who was a part of JV’s two games before the [the season paused] and then the whole experience here, they’ll tell you he’s very deserving of the job,” said Caris LeVert, following Sunday’s season-ending loss to the Raptors. “He’s done a great job down here winning with less.”

The Nets reportedly have several other candidates under consideration as well, including Tyronn Lue, Jason Kidd, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson and 76ers assistant Ime Udoka.