The 2001–02 NBA season was the Kings' 53rd season in the National Basketball Association, and 17th season in Sacramento.^[1] During the off-season, the Kings acquired Mike Bibby from the Vancouver Grizzlies,^[2][3][4][5] who had just relocated to Memphis, Tennessee.^[6][7] Despite Chris Webber missing the first 20 games due to a preseason ankle injury,^{[8][9][10][11]} the Kings won 17 of their first 22 games, then posted a 12-game winning streak between December and January, as they held a 37–12 record before the All-Star break.^[12] The team won eleven straight games near the end of the season, finishing with a 61–21 record (.744 winning percentage), the best record in the league,^[13] while winning their division for the first time since 1979, when the team was in Kansas City. The Kings also made the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1981 (also as the Kansas City Kings).^[14]

Webber averaged 24.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in 54 games, as he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Peja Stojaković finished second on the team in scoring averaging 21.2 points per game, while Bibby provided the team with 13.7 points and 5.0 assists per game. In addition, Doug Christie averaged 12.0 points and 2.0 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Vlade Divac provided the team with 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, sixth man Bobby Jackson also contributed 11.1 points per game off the bench, and second-year forward Hedo Türkoğlu averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game also off the bench.^[15] Webber and Stojaković were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in Philadelphia,^[16][17][18] while Webber also finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, and Jackson finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[19][20]

In the playoffs, the Kings defeated the Utah Jazz three games to one in the Western Conference First Round,^{[21][22][23][24]} and defeated the Dallas Mavericks four games to one in the Western Conference Semi-finals,^{[25][26][27][28]} despite losing Stojaković to an ankle injury in Game 3, which the Kings won on the road, 125–119.^{[29][30][31][32]}

In their first trip to the Western Conference finals, the Kings faced the 3rd-seeded and 2-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. The Kings would take a 3–2 series lead over the Lakers,^[33][34][35] but went on to lose the final two games in one of the most controversial playoff series in NBA history.^{[36][37][38][39]} Game 6 was the most controversial game of the series with the calls made by the referees, and with the Lakers winning, 106–102 at home.^{[40][41][42][43][44][45]} The Lakers would then go on to defeat the New Jersey Nets in four straight games in the NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive championship.^{[46][47][48][49][50]}

• Chris Webber, All-NBA Second Team
• Doug Christie, NBA All-Defensive Second Team