2001-02_Los_Angeles_Lakers_season

2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season

2001–02 Los Angeles Lakers season

Pro basketball team season (won NBA championship)


The 2001–02 NBA season was the Lakers' 54th season in the National Basketball Association, and 42nd in the city of Los Angeles.[1] The Lakers entered the season as the two-time defending NBA champions, having defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the 2001 NBA Finals, winning their thirteenth NBA championship.

Quick Facts Los Angeles Lakers season, Head coach ...

Off-season

During the off-season, the Lakers signed free agents, All-Star guard Mitch Richmond and Samaki Walker,[2][3][4][5] and acquired Lindsey Hunter from the Milwaukee Bucks.[6][7][8] For the season, they added new logo changed from a lighter purple to a darker purple still remained with the gold and black color. They remained in use as of 2023.

Results

The team got off to a fast start winning their first seven games, leading to a successful 16–1 start after a nine-game winning streak between November and December, and holding a 33–13 record at the All-Star break.[9] The Lakers finished second in the Pacific Division with a 58–24 record.[10] Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, in which Bryant won MVP honors despite being booed by the hometown crowd in Philadelphia,[11][12][13][14] but O'Neal did not participate in the All-Star game due to an injury for the second year in a row.[15][16][17]

After sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers, 3–0 in the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs,[18][19][20][21] then defeating the 2nd-seeded San Antonio Spurs, 4–1 in the Western Conference Semi-finals,[22][23][24][25] the Lakers were pushed to the brink once more in the Western Conference Finals by the top-seeded Sacramento Kings, trailing 3–2,[26][27][28] but managed to win the series in seven games.[29][30][31][32] Game 6 of the Lakers-Kings series was one of the most controversial games in NBA history, due to the calls made by the referees (most of which were to the detriment of the Kings), and with the Lakers winning, 106–102 at home.[33][34][35][36][37][38] Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals on June 2 brought in a total of 23.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched Western Conference Finals game in NBA history.[39][40] The Lakers then went on to win the NBA Finals, defeating and sweeping the New Jersey Nets in four straight games for their second three-peat in franchise history, the first since 195254. The season marked the third and last of the Lakers' three-peat championships into the new millennium. O’Neal was named Finals MVP for the third straight year.[41][42][43][44][45]

Player statistics

Bryant averaged 25.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while O’Neal averaged 27.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, and Derek Fisher provided the team with 11.2 points per game. In addition, Rick Fox contributed 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, while Robert Horry provided with 6.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, and Walker averaged 6.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.[46] Both Bryant and O'Neal were named to the All-NBA First Team, while Bryant was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Shaq finished in third place in Most Valuable Player voting with 15 first-place votes (696 points),[47][48] and Kobe finished in fifth place in MVP voting with 1 first-place vote.[49] Bryant also finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.[50][51]

Aftermath

Following the season, Richmond retired ending his fourteen-year career in the NBA,[52] and Hunter was traded to the Toronto Raptors.[53] The Lakers would not win another title until 2009, in which they defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. As of 2022, the Lakers are the most recent NBA team to have accomplished a three-peat.

Draft picks

  • The Los Angeles Lakers did not have any Draft Picks.
  • The Lakers owned the 27th Pick Overall and it was sent to New York.
  • They also owned the 56th Pick Overall and it was sent to San Antonio.

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Regular season

Season standings

More information W, L ...
More information #, Team ...

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...

Game log

Pre-season

More information 2001 preseason game log Total: 4–4, Game ...

Regular season

More information 2001–02 game log Total: 58–24 (Home: 34–7; Road: 24–17), Game ...

Playoffs

More information 2001–02 game log Total: 15–4 (Home: 8–2; Road: 7–2), Game ...

NBA Finals

Summary

The following scoring summary is written in a line score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.

More information Team, Game 1 ...

Aspects

Amid tensions between co-captains Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in the Pacific Division and earning the third seed in the Western Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won the game MVP trophy in his hometown Philadelphia.[54] The duo appeared on the All-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with an NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection.[55][56]

Entering the 2001–02 season, the New Jersey Nets were enduring a three-year playoff drought and had a 73–141 record over that span. In 1999, the Nets hired Rod Thorn as team president and immediately, he hired the recently retired Byron Scott to coach New Jersey. Thorn then dealt for Stephon Marbury in a three-team trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, trading Sam Cassell away to the Bucks.[57] Due to the Nets' 31–51 season in 1999–00 season, they had the first overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, which they used to select power forward Kenyon Martin out of the University of Cincinnati.[58] Despite the reshuffling of the roster and a Rookie of the Year season for Martin, New Jersey struggled, ending the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and were bestowed the 7th pick in the upcoming draft.

With another lottery pick, Thorn dealt it to the Houston Rockets for draftees Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong.[57] The next day, Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guard Jason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury.[59]

With the Princeton offense installed from the coaching staff,[60] the Nets rebounded to a 52–30 (.634) mark, a twenty-six-win improvement from the last season, and clinched the number-one seed in the Eastern Conference. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both the All-NBA[55] and All-Defensive Teams[56] and was selected for his fifth All-Star game. He also finished runner-up to San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan in the Most Valuable Player voting.[61] Richard Jefferson was an All-Rookie second team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awarded NBA Executive of the Year.[62]

Game One

Wednesday, June 5, 2002, 6:00 at the Staples Center.

Los Angeles's Staples Center sold out for the inaugural game of the 2002 NBA Finals, with nearly 19,000 on hand. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloth to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. The Lakers brought out Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, and Kobe Bryant, who drew the assignment of guarding Kidd. New Jersey head coach Byron Scott, a member of the Showtime Lakers, received a standing ovation.

Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42-19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17–6 to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloth into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third.

" You can't dig yourself a hole, get down by 19 or 20 points and expect to win. We just dug ourselves a hole against the champions. "

—Lucious Harris, Sports Illustrated[63]

New Jersey battled back, coming as close as three several times in the final quarter. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5–8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone.

New Jersey was doomed by their late start and poor shooting. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively.[64] Kidd finished with a triple–double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series.

Recap

More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Two

Friday, June 7, 2002, 6:00 at the Staples Center.

The second game was more of statement as the Lakers clobbered the Nets by a score of 106-83 thanks to Shaquille O'Neal's 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Recap

More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Three

Sunday, June 9, 2002, 8:30 at the Continental Airlines Arena.

Game Three would prove to a hard fought game (much like the first game of the series) as the Lakers and Nets would trade leads throughout the game but thanks to Kobe Bryant's 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks the Lakers prevail by a score of 106-103 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

Recap

More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Game Four

Wednesday, June 12, 2002, 9:00 at the Continental Airlines Arena.

Despite this being a hard fought battle (much like the previous game and as well as the first game of the series) the Lakers still won game four and the championship, giving Phil Jackson his Red Auerbach-tying ninth title and the Lakers their third consecutive title (and fourteenth overall) making them the fifth team to win three consecutive titles and denying the Nets their first ever championship since the franchise moved to East Rutherford.

Recap

More information Team, 1st Qt. ...

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season

More information Player, GP ...

Playoffs

More information Player, GP ...

Award winners

Legacy

  • By winning the third straight Finals MVP, Shaquille O'Neal became only the second player to achieve this feat, after Michael Jordan doing it twice in 1991-93 and 1996-98.

Transactions


References

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  3. "N.B.A.: ROUNDUP; Richmond Goes West to Lakers". The New York Times. July 21, 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  4. "Former Wizards G Richmond Signs with Lakers". The Washington Post. July 21, 2001. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  5. Plaschke, Bill (July 24, 2001). "It Could Be a Rich Deal for Lakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
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  13. Patrick, Dan (February 11, 2002). "Booing Kobe? I Don't Get It". ESPN. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
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  48. "Ben Wallace Named NBA's Top Defender". Deseret News. Associated Press. April 21, 2002. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
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  52. Nets Trade History Archived 2007-04-20 at the Wayback Machine NBA.com/nets
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  54. It's official: Duncan captures MVP award Archived 2011-12-21 at the Wayback Machine USA Today. Retrieved December 28, 2008
  55. Title goes to one sharp Thorn: Nets GM honored as wheeler-deeler, New York Daily-News. Accessed 2009-04-14. Archived 2009-05-14.
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