NBA 2001/02
National Basketball Association | |||
◄ previous | 2001/02 season | next ► | |
Duration | October 2001 - June 2002 | ||
Season games per team | 82 | ||
Number of teams | 29 | ||
Regular season | |||
Best record | Sacramento Kings | ||
Season MVP | Tim Duncan | ||
Top scorer | Allen Iverson | ||
Playoffs | |||
Eastern - Champion | New Jersey Nets | ||
Runner-up team | Boston Celtics | ||
Western - Champion | Los Angeles Lakers | ||
Runner-up team | Sacramento Kings | ||
Finals | |||
NBA champions | Los Angeles Lakers | ||
Runner-up | New Jersey Nets | ||
Finals MVP | Shaquille O'Neal |
The 2001-02 NBA season was the National Basketball Association's 56th season . A total of 29 teams took part in the regular season . Each team played 82 games. The eight best in each conference qualified for the NBA playoffs .
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the New Jersey Nets 4-0 in the NBA Finals . They were NBA champions for the third time in a row and for the 14th time ever.
Season Notes
- The Grizzlies moved from Vancouver ( British Columbia ) to Memphis to. They played their first season at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis.
- The All-Star Game was played at the First Union Center in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The Lakers' Kobe Bryant became All-Star Game MVP after the West defeated the East 135-120.
- Before the start of the regular season , NBA legend Michael Jordan , a partner in the Washington Wizards , announced his second comeback 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 .
- The NBA split from their TV broadcast partner NBC after 12 years.
- NBA teams wore patches and ribbons with the symbol of the American flag on their jerseys in memory of the victims of September 11th . The Toronto Raptors wore the American and Canadian flags on their jerseys.
- The New Jersey Nets , who had never won more than 49 games before and only made it to the second round of the playoffs once, won 52 games and played their first NBA final.
Final results
S = wins, N = defeats, PCT = percentage of wins, P = deficit on division leaders
The placements in the seed lists of the respective conference playoffs are listed in brackets.
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Leading the player stats
category | player | team | value |
---|---|---|---|
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 | 2.8 |
Blocks per game | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons | 3.5 |
Field throw quota | Shaquille O'Neal | Los Angeles Lakers | 57.9% |
Free throw rate | Reggie Miller | Indiana Pacers | 91.1% |
Three throw quota | Steve Smith | San Antonio Spurs | 47.2% |
Play-offs 2002
- 2001-02 was the last season in which the first round was played in the best-of-five format.
- All other play-off rounds were best-of-seven series.
First round | Conference semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA finals | |||||||||||||||
1 | Sacramento | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
8th | Utah | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Sacramento | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Dallas | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Dallas | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Minnesota | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Sacramento | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Western Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | LA Lakers | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
3 | LA Lakers | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
6th | Portland | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | LA Lakers | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
2 | San Antonio | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | San Antonio | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
7th | Seattle | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
W3 | LA Lakers | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
E1 | New Jersey | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | New Jersey | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
8th | Indiana | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | New Jersey | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Charlotte | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
4th | Charlotte | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
5 | Orlando | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
1 | New Jersey | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Boston | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
6th | Philadelphia | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
3 | Boston | 4th | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Detroit | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Detroit | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
7th | Toronto | 2 |
NBA Finals 2002
game | date | Home team | Away team | Result | was standing |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | June 5th | los Angeles | New Jersey | 99:94 | 1-0 |
2 | June 7th | los Angeles | New Jersey | 106: 83 | 2-0 |
3 | June 9th | New Jersey | los Angeles | 103: 106 | 0: 3 |
4th | June 12 | New Jersey | los Angeles | 107: 113 | 0: 4 |
Shaquille O'Neal of the Lakers was named Finals MVP . After Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, he was only the third player in NBA history to win this trophy at least three times (later Tim Duncan and Lebron James ).