2001–02 NBA season

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2001–02 NBA season
League National Basketball Association
Sport Basketball
Duration October 30, 2001 – April 17, 2002
April 20 – June 2, 2002 (Playoffs)
June 5 – 12, 2002 (Finals)
Number of teams 29
TV partner(s) NBC, TNT, NBA TV, TBS
Draft
Top draft pick Kwame Brown
Picked by Washington Wizards
Regular season
Top seed Sacramento Kings
Season MVP Tim Duncan (San Antonio)
Top scorer Allen Iverson (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern champions New Jersey Nets
  Eastern runners-up Boston Celtics
Western champions Los Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-up Sacramento Kings
Finals
Champions Los Angeles Lakers
  Runners-up New Jersey Nets
Finals MVP Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers)
NBA seasons

The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 2000-01 coach 2001-02 coach
Cleveland Cavaliers Randy Wittman John Lucas
Detroit Pistons George Irvine Rick Carlisle
Portland Trail Blazers Mike Dunleavy, Sr. Maurice Cheeks
Washington Wizards Leonard Hamilton Doug Collins
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Chicago Bulls Tim Floyd Bill Cartwright
Denver Nuggets Dan Issel Mike Evans
Golden State Warriors Dave Cowens Brian Winters
New York Knicks Jeff Van Gundy Don Chaney
Phoenix Suns Scott Skiles Frank Johnson
  • Kwame Brown became the first high school player drafted first overall when the Washington Wizards drafted him in the 2001 NBA Draft.
  • The Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver, British Columbia to Memphis, Tennessee. They played their first three seasons at The Pyramid in Memphis.
  • This was the final season for the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, as they would relocate to New Orleans for the following season. However, the NBA added an expansion team to Charlotte in time for the 2004-05 NBA season. In 2013, the New Orleans Hornets announced they would relinquished their name and history to the new Charlotte team beginning in the 2014-15 season. Therefore, the official NBA record now states that the Charlotte NBA franchise suspended operations for two years at the conclusion of this season.
  • The San Antonio Spurs played their final home game at the Alamodome.
  • The 2002 NBA All-Star Game was held at First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers took MVP honors amidst boos from the Philadelphia fans following a 135-120 victory by the West. Philadelphia was originally slated to host the 1999 All-Star Game, but was awarded the 2002 game instead due to the 1998 lockout.
  • Prior to the start of the season, NBA and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, then part-owner of the Washington Wizards, announced his second comeback to the NBA, this time with the Wizards.
  • The Dallas Mavericks played their first game at the American Airlines Center, not to be confused with the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.
  • This was the last season that both NBC and TBS televise NBA games.
  • NBA teams wore patches on their jerseys with the American flag and a red-white-and-blue ribbon, in honor of the victims of the September 11 attacks. The Raptors wore the American and Canadian flags on theirs.
  • The only Canadian team left in the NBA the Toronto Raptors, after losing 17 of 18 to drop to 30-38, win 12 of their last 14 to finish at 42-40 and go to the NBA playoffs with the seventh seed in the East.
  • The New Jersey Nets, who had never won 50 games in a season and had only been to the second round of the playoffs once, won 52 games.
  • With the Nets appearing in the Finals, the Denver Nuggets remained as the only former ABA team not to have reached the NBA Finals.
  • This season is one of the most memorable in the history of the Milwaukee Bucks. The team got off to a division-leading 26-13 start, and were 10 games over .500 as late as March 6. However, the Bucks would proceed to lose 16 of their last 22 games and miss the playoffs, one of the biggest late-season collapses for a team that was contending for a division title in March.
  • Former All-Star Jayson Williams was charged with the murder of his limo driver on February 14. He was immediately fired from his spot on NBC's Verizon Wireless at the Half shortly after appearing on TV during the All-Star Game the previous week.
  • Marv Albert and Mike Fratello were involved in a limo crash prior to the start of the 2002 Playoffs and were unable to announce for NBC. Albert returned to announce the 2002 Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals.
  • The 2002 NBA Playoffs featured several controversial last-second shots. During Game 4 of the series between the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic, Baron Davis hit a three-pointer at the buzzer that should have counted, but was waved off. Later, Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers was awarded a game-tying three-pointer from half-court against the New Jersey Nets that should not have counted, but was. In the Western Conference Finals between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers, Lakers forward Samaki Walker hit a three-pointer to end the half that should not have counted (the three points would later haunt the Kings as Robert Horry won the game on a last second shot). After the playoffs ended, it was decided that instant replay was needed in the NBA. In addition, the NBA installed red light beams on the backboard to determine the end of the shot clock and/or the game clock.
  • This season marked the first time the league's scoring leader (in this case Allen Iverson) failed to make the All-NBA First Team.
  • This was the last year the NBA Playoffs first round format was a best of five game series, it was changed in the 2003 NBA Playoffs to a best of seven game series.

Final standings

By division

Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 – 33–8 19–22 16–8
x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3 27–14 22–19 17–7
x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8 27–14 17–24 12–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9 22–19 21–20 14–11
Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15 22–19 15–26 12–13
Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16 18–23 18–23 10–14
New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22 19–22 11–30 4–20


Central Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 – 26–15 24–17 20–8
x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 6 21–20 23–18 17–11
x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 8 24–17 18–23 17–11
x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 8 25–16 17–24 13–15
Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 9 25–16 16–25 17–11
Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 17 23–18 10–31 11–17
Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 21 20–21 9–32 12–16
Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 29 14–27 7–34 5–23


Midwest Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 – 32–9 26–15 21–3
x-Dallas Mavericks 57 25 .695 1 30–11 27–14 16–8
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 50 32 .610 8 29–12 21–20 15–9
x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 14 25–16 19–22 8–16
Houston Rockets 28 54 .341 30 18–23 10–31 9–15
Denver Nuggets 27 55 .329 31 20–21 7–34 8–16
Memphis Grizzlies 23 59 .280 35 15–26 8–33 7–17


Pacific Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Sacramento Kings 61 21 .744 – 36–5 25–16 15–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 3 34–7 24–17 16–8
x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 12 30–11 19–22 14–10
x-Seattle SuperSonics 45 37 .549 16 26–15 19–22 13–11
Los Angeles Clippers 39 43 .476 22 25–16 14–27 9–15
Phoenix Suns 36 46 .439 25 23–18 13–28 12–12
Golden State Warriors 21 61 .256 40 14–27 7–34 5–19


By conference

# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 –
2 y- Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 2
3 x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3
4 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 8
5 x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8
6 x- Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9
7 x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 10
8 x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 10
9 Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 11
10 Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15
11 Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16
12 Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 19
13 New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22
14 Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 23
15 Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 31
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Sacramento Kings 61 21 .744 –
2 y-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 3
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers 58 24 .707 3
4 x-Dallas Mavericks 57 25 .695 4
5 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 50 32 .610 11
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers 49 33 .598 12
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics 45 37 .549 16
8 x-Utah Jazz 44 38 .537 17
9 Los Angeles Clippers 39 43 .476 22
10 Phoenix Suns 36 46 .439 25
11 Houston Rockets 28 54 .341 33
12 Denver Nuggets 27 55 .329 34
13 Memphis Grizzlies 23 59 .280 38
14 Golden State Warriors 21 61 .256 40



Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

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Main article: 2002 NBA Playoffs
First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
                       
1 Sacramento 3
8 Utah 1
1 Sacramento 4
4 Dallas 1
4 Dallas 3
5 Minnesota 0
1 Sacramento 3
Western Conference
3 L.A. Lakers 4
3 LA Lakers 3
6 Portland 0
3 L.A. Lakers 4
2 San Antonio 1
2 San Antonio 3
7 Seattle 2
W3 L.A. Lakers 4
E1 New Jersey 0
1 New Jersey 3
8 Indiana 2
1 New Jersey 4
4 Charlotte 1
4 Charlotte 3
5 Orlando 1
1 New Jersey 4
Eastern Conference
3 Boston 2
3 Boston 3
6 Philadelphia 2
3 Boston 4
2 Detroit 1
2 Detroit 3
7 Toronto 2

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points per game Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers 31.4
Rebounds per game Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons 13.0
Assists per game Andre Miller Cleveland Cavaliers 10.9
Steals per game Allen Iverson Philadelphia 76ers 2.80
Blocks per game Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons 3.48
FG% Shaquille O'Neal Los Angeles Lakers .579
FT% Reggie Miller Indiana Pacers .911
3FG% Steve Smith San Antonio Spurs .472

Awards

Yearly awards

Players of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference
October – November Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) (1/1) Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
December Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) (1/2)
Antoine Walker (Boston Celtics) (1/1)		 Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) (1/2)
January Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1) Chris Webber (Sacramento Kings) (1/1)
February Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic) (1/1) Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (1/1)
March Ben Wallace (Detroit Pistons) (1/1) Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns) (1/1)
April Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) (2/2) Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs) (2/2)

Rookies of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference
October – November Jamaal Tinsley (Indiana Pacers) (1/2) Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) (1/3)
December Brendan Haywood (Washington Wizards) (1/1) Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies) (1/1)
January Richard Jefferson (New Jersey Nets) (1/1) Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) (2/3)
February Trenton Hassell (Chicago Bulls) (1/1) Jason Richardson (Golden State Warriors) (1/1)
March Jamaal Tinsley (Indiana Pacers) (2/2) Pau Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) (3/3)
April Željko Rebrača (Detroit Pistons) (1/1) Gilbert Arenas (Golden State Warriors) (1/1)

Coaches of the month

The following coaches were named Coaches of the Month.

Month Coach
October – November Larry Brown (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/1)
December Doug Collins (Washington Wizards) (1/1)
January Rick Adelman (Sacramento Kings) (1/1)
February Rick Carlisle (Detroit Pistons) (1/1)
March Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) (1/1)
April Lenny Wilkens (Toronto Raptors) (1/1)

References

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