2000–01 Phoenix Suns season

2000–01 Phoenix Suns season
Head coachScott Skiles
General managerBryan Colangelo
OwnerJerry Colangelo
ArenaAmerica West Arena
Results
Record51–31 (.622)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Pacific)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Kings 1–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television
RadioKTAR

The 2000–01 Phoenix Suns season was the 33rd season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the off-season, the Suns signed free agents Mario Elie,[2][3][4] and Tony Delk,[5][6] and acquired Chris Dudley from the New York Knicks in a four-team trade.[7]

In their first full season with Scott Skiles as head coach, the Suns posted a 7-game winning streak early into the regular season, and held a 28–20 record at the All-Star break.[8] The team posted another 7-game winning streak between March and April, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 51–31 record, which earned them the sixth seed in the Western Conference;[9] the Suns qualified for the NBA playoffs for the 13th consecutive year, which was a franchise record.[10]

Second-year forward Shawn Marion showed improvement averaging 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, while Jason Kidd averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and Clifford Robinson provided the team with 16.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. In addition, Delk and last season's Sixth Man of the Year, Rodney Rogers, both played sixth man roles off the bench, as Delk contributed 12.3 points per game, while Rogers provided with 12.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Meanwhile, Penny Hardaway was the team's highest-paid player, but only played in just four games due to a knee injury, averaging 9.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game,[11][12] while Tom Gugliotta averaged 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but only played 57 games also due to injury, second-round draft pick Jake Tsakalidis provided with 4.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and Elie contributed 4.4 points per game.[13]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Kidd was selected for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team.[14][15][16] In addition, Kidd also participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition for the second consecutive year, along with Brandy Reed of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury,[17][18] while Marion was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team.[19][20] Kidd finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting,[21] while Marion finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting;[21] Kidd and Marion both finished tied in eleventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[21] while Rogers finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and with Delk finishing tied in tenth place.[21]

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2001 NBA playoffs, the Suns faced off against the 3rd–seeded Sacramento Kings, who were led by All-Star forward Chris Webber, Peja Stojaković, and All-Star center Vlade Divac. The Suns won Game 1 over the Kings on the road, 86–83 at the ARCO Arena II,[22][23] but then lost the next three games, including a Game 4 home loss to the Kings at the America West Arena, 89–82, thus losing the series in four games.[24][25][26]

The Suns finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 737,586 at the America West Arena during the regular season.[13][27] Following the season, Kidd was traded to the New Jersey Nets after four in a half seasons with the Suns,[28][29][30] while Robinson was dealt to the Detroit Pistons,[31][32][33] Dudley re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers, and Elie retired.

For the season, the Suns redesigned their primary logo, adding grey to their color scheme of purple and orange,[34] and changed their uniforms, adding side panels to their jerseys and shorts.[35][36] The team's primary logo and uniforms would both remain in use until 2013.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 2000 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club Team
1 25 Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis Center  Georgia AEK (Greece)

Roster

2000–01 Phoenix Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 8 Vinny Del Negro 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1966–08–09 NC State
G 00 Tony Delk 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1974–01–28 Kentucky
C 14 Chris Dudley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–02–22 Yale
G 17 Mario Elie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–11–26 American International
F 24 Tom Gugliotta 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–12–19 NC State
G 1 Penny Hardaway 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–07–18 Memphis
G 32 Jason Kidd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1973–03–23 California
F 31 Shawn Marion 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–05–07 UNLV
G 2 Elliot Perry 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1969–03–28 Memphis
F 30 Clifford Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut
F 54 Rodney Rogers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1971–06–20 Wake Forest
C 15 Daniel Santiago 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 256 lb (116 kg) 1976–06–24 Saint Vincent
C 25 Jake Tsakalidis 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1979–06–10 Georgia
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: January 26, 2001

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 – 31–10 25–16 14–10
x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 1 33–8 22–19 16–8
x-Phoenix Suns 51 31 .622 5 31–10 20–21 12–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers 50 32 .610 6 28–13 22–19 12–12
e-Seattle SuperSonics 44 38 .537 12 26–15 18–23 17–7
e-Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 378 25 22–19 9–32 9–15
e-Golden State Warriors 17 65 .207 39 11–30 6–35 4–20
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 z-San Antonio Spurs 58 24 .707 –
2 y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 2
3 x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 3
4 x-Utah Jazz 53 29 .646 5
5 x-Dallas Mavericks 53 29 .646 5
6 x-Phoenix Suns 51 31 .622 7
7 x-Portland Trail Blazers 50 32 .610 8
8 x-Minnesota Timberwolves 47 35 .573 11
9 e-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13
10 e-Seattle SuperSonics 44 38 .537 14
11 e-Denver Nuggets 40 42 .488 18
12 e-Los Angeles Clippers 31 51 .378 27
13 e-Vancouver Grizzlies 23 59 .280 35
14 e-Golden State Warriors 17 65 .207 41

Playoffs

2001 playoff game log
First Round: 1–3 (home: 0–2; road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 22 @ Sacramento W 86–83 Shawn Marion (21) Jake Tsakalidis (11) Jason Kidd (14) ARCO Arena
17,317 		1–0
2 April 25 @ Sacramento L 90–116 Tony Delk (14) Tom Gugliotta (8) Jason Kidd (9) ARCO Arena
17,317 		1–1
3 April 29 Sacramento L 96–104 Jason Kidd (19) Shawn Marion (10) Jason Kidd (16) America West Arena
19,023 		1–2
4 May 2 Sacramento L 82–89 Clifford Robinson (24) Jake Tsakalidis (12) Jason Kidd (14) America West Arena
18,836 		1–3
2001 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

  • Jason Kidd was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his fourth All-Star selection. Kidd finished second in voting among Western Conference guards with 1,062,837 votes.

Season

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

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Corie Blount* 30 6 12.9 .489† . .533 2.8 0.3 .4 .2 1.8
Vinny Del Negro* 36 0 14.6 .528† .000 .893^ 1.4 1.8 .6 .1 4.9
Tony Delk 82 11 27.9 .415 .321 .787 3.2 2.0 .9 .2 12.3
Chris Dudley 53 33 11.6 .397 . .389 3.5 0.3 .3 .5 1.4
Mario Elie 68 67 22.1 .423 .360 .797 2.3 1.9 .9 .2 4.4
Rubén Garcés* 10 0 6.2 .467 . .250 2.2 0.4 .2 .1 1.6
Tom Gugliotta 57 2 20.3 .392 .250 .792 4.5 1.0 .8 .4 6.4
Penny Hardaway 4 4 28.0 .417 .250 .636 4.5 3.8 1.5 .3 9.8
Jason Kidd 77 76 39.8 .411 .297 .814^ 6.4 9.8 2.2 .3 16.9
Shawn Marion 79 79 36.2 .480† .256 .810 10.7 2.0 1.7 1.4 17.3
Paul McPherson* 33 0 9.3 .490† .000 .750 1.5 0.5 .4 .1 3.4
Elliot Perry* 43 6 10.7 .465 .250 .727 1.0 1.7 .4 .0 3.2
Clifford Robinson 82 82 33.5 .422 .361 .709 4.1 2.9 1.1 1.0 16.4
Rodney Rogers 82 3 26.6 .430 .296 .761 4.4 2.2 1.2 .6 12.2
Daniel Santiago 54 2 10.8 .478 . .689 1.9 0.2 .3 .4 3.1
Jake Tsakalidis 57 39 16.6 .470 . .593 4.2 0.3 .2 1.0 4.5

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Vinny Del Negro 3 0 8.7 .571 . . 0.7 1.7 .0 .0 2.7
Tony Delk 4 0 28.5 .419 .400 .636 4.0 1.0 .8 .0 11.8
Chris Dudley 3 0 8.7 .500 . . 2.3 0.0 .3 .3 0.7
Mario Elie 4 4 25.8 .452 .154 .750 3.3 1.8 .8 .3 9.0
Tom Gugliotta 4 0 21.5 .308 . .778 3.8 0.8 2.0 .3 5.8
Jason Kidd 4 4 41.5 .319 .235 .750 6.0 13.3 2.0 .0 14.3
Shawn Marion 4 4 34.8 .371 1.000 .857 8.3 0.8 1.5 1.5 14.8
Elliot Perry 2 0 8.5 .600 .000 1.000 2.0 2.0 1.0 .0 6.5
Clifford Robinson 4 4 28.5 .420 .250 .636 4.0 1.0 1.5 .5 15.0
Rodney Rogers 4 0 20.5 .300 .200 .643 3.5 0.5 .5 .8 8.8
Daniel Santiago 1 0 12.0 .500 . . 5.0 0.0 .0 2.0 2.0
Jake Tsakalidis 4 4 18.8 .375 . . 7.0 0.0 .0 1.8 3.0

Player statistics citation:[13]

Transactions

Trades

September 20, 2000 To New York Knicks
Lazaro Borrell
Travis Knight
Luc Longley
Vernon Maxwell
Glen Rice
Vladimir Stepania
2001 first-round draft pick ( Jamaal Tinsley)
2001 second-round draft pick ( Eric Chenowith)
2001 second-round draft pick ( Michael Wright
2002 first-round draft pick ( Kareem Rush)
 To Los Angeles Lakers
Emanual Davis
Greg Foster
Horace Grant
Chuck Person
To Seattle SuperSonics
Patrick Ewing 		To Phoenix Suns
Chris Dudley
2001 first-round draft pick ( Jason Collins)
Cash considerations
January 26, 2001 To Golden State Warriors
Corie Blount
Rubén Garcés
Paul McPherson
 To Phoenix Suns
Vinny Del Negro

Free agents

Additions

Date Player Contract Former Team
August 1, 2000 Tony Delk Signed to 6-year contract for $19 million Sacramento Kings
August 2, 2000 Daniel Santiago Signed to 1-year contract for $317,000 Pallacanestro Varese (Italy)
August 3, 2000 Corie Blount Re-signed to 2-year contract for $3.2 million Phoenix Suns
August 3, 2000 Justin Love Undisclosed
August 3, 2000 Rubén Garcés Signed to 1-year contract for $317,000 La Crosse Bobcats (CBA)
August 22, 2000 Paul McPherson Signed to 1-year contract for $317,000
September 15, 2000 Mario Elie Signed to 1-year contract for $1 million San Antonio Spurs
September 29, 2000 Carlos Daniel Undisclosed Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
September 29, 2000 DeJuan Wheat Undisclosed Idaho Stampede (CBA)
September 29, 2000 Lelan McDougal Undisclosed Billings RimRockers (IBA)
September 29, 2000 Tim Kempton Undisclosed Toronto Raptors
October 1, 2000 J. R. Koch Undisclosed Athlon Ieper (Belgium)
October 1, 2000 Reed Rawlings Undisclosed
December 8, 2000 Elliot Perry Undisclosed Orlando Magic
January 17, 2001 Elliot Perry Signed two 10-day contracts Phoenix Suns
February 6, 2001 Elliot Perry Signed for rest of season Phoenix Suns

Subtractions

Date Player Reason left New team
June 30, 2000 Toby Bailey Free agent Los Angeles Stars (ABA)
August 8, 2000 Kevin Johnson Retired
August 31, 2000 Randy Livingston Waived Golden State Warriors
September 13, 2000 Don MacLean Free agent Miami Heat
October 6, 2000 J. R. Koch Waived Las Vegas Silver Bandits (IBL)
October 6, 2000 Lelan McDougal Waived San Diego Wildfire (ABA)
October 16, 2000 Carlos Daniel Waived Sioux Falls Skyforce (IBL)
October 16, 2000 Reed Rawlings Waived Detroit Dogs (ABA)
October 25, 2000 DeJuan Wheat Waived Panteras de Miranda (Venezuela)
October 25, 2000 Justin Love Waived Kansas City Knights (ABA)
October 25, 2000 Tim Kempton Waived
November 20, 2000 Rex Chapman Retired
January 5, 2001 Elliot Perry Waived Phoenix Suns

Player Transactions Citation:[38]

References

  1. ^ "2000-01 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats | Basketball-Reference.com".
  2. ^ "Mario Elie Signs with Suns". United Press International. September 15, 2000. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; Barkley Agrees to Portland Deal". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 16, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "Transactions". Hartford Courant. September 16, 2000. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  5. ^ "Grizzlies Quickly Sign Swift to Deal". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. July 19, 2000. p. 4E. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  6. ^ "Sports Update". United Press International. August 1, 2000. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Wise, Mike (October 30, 2000). "PRO BASKETBALL; West Side Story, the Sequel". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
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  10. ^ "Phoenix Suns". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
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  12. ^ Smith, Sam (February 6, 2001). "Hardaway's Career Takes a Painful Detour". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
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  14. ^ "West Expected to Flex Muscle in NBA All-Star Game Sunday". ESPN. Ticker. February 10, 2001. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  15. ^ "2001 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
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  17. ^ "NBA All-Star Weekend". Telegraph Herald. February 11, 2001. p. 6C. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  18. ^ Bender, Patricia. "2001 All-Star Weekend - at Washington: February 9-11". Eskimo.com. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Liao, Henry (January 15, 2001). "Rookies Game Lineup Known". Philippine Daily Inquirer. p. A22. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
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  28. ^ "Both Kidd and Marbury to Get Fresh Starts". ESPN. Associated Press. June 29, 2001. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  29. ^ Robbins, Liz (June 29, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Nets' Shake-Up Ships Marbury for Suns' Kidd". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  30. ^ Heisler, Mark (June 29, 2001). "Kidd, Marbury Latest Big Deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  31. ^ "Pistons Add Robinson in Deal with Suns". ESPN. Associated Press. June 29, 2001. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  32. ^ "PLUS: BASKETBALL; Suns' Robinson Is Dealt to Pistons". The New York Times. June 30, 2001. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  33. ^ "Suns Deal Robinson to Pistons". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 30, 2001. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  34. ^ "Phoenix Suns Logo". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  35. ^ "Phoenix Suns Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  36. ^ "Phoenix Suns Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
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