2001–02 New Jersey Nets season

The 2001–02 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 35th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 26th season in East Rutherford, New Jersey.^[1] This season was notable for the Nets acquiring All-Star point guard Jason Kidd from the Phoenix Suns during the off-season.^[2][3] The team received the seventh overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected power forward Eddie Griffin out of Seton Hall University, but soon traded him to the Houston Rockets in exchange for rookie small forward, and top draft pick Richard Jefferson from the University of Arizona, and rookie center Jason Collins out of Stanford University,^[4][5] and signed free agent Todd MacCulloch.^[6]

With the addition of Kidd and Jefferson, the Nets won nine of their first twelve games of the regular season, held a 26–11 record as of January 16, 2002, and then held a 32–15 record at the All-Star break.^[7] The team finished in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 52–30 record, their best record since joining the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger in 1976, and earning the first seed in the Eastern Conference.^[8] As of the 2024–25 NBA season, this was the only season where the Nets won 50 or more games.

Kidd was credited for most of the turnaround, as the Nets had finished 26–56 the previous year; Kidd averaged 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 9.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game, led the Nets with 117 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, second-year star Kenyon Martin averaged 14.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, while Keith Van Horn provided the team with 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, along with 101 three-point field goals, and Kerry Kittles, who returned after missing all of the previous season due to knee injuries, contributed 13.4 points and 1.6 steals per game. Meanwhile, Jefferson averaged 9.4 points per game off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while MacCulloch provided with 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, Lucious Harris contributed 9.1 points per game, Aaron Williams averaged 7.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and Collins provided with 4.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.^[9]

During the NBA All-Star Weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Kidd was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coach Byron Scott was selected to coach the Eastern Conference.^[10][11] Meanwhile, Martin was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the sophomore team.^[12][13] Kidd also finished in second place in Most Valuable Player voting, behind Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs,^[14][15] while Jefferson finished in second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies,^[16][15] and Scott finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.^[17][15]

In the Eastern Conference first round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Nets faced off against the eighth–seeded Indiana Pacers, a team that featured All-Star forward, and 2001–02 Most Improved Player award winner, Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Brad Miller. The Nets lost game 1 to the Pacers at home, 89–83 at the Continental Airlines Arena. However, the team managed to win the next two games to take a 2–1 series lead, before losing game 4 to the Pacers on the road, 97–74 at the Conseco Fieldhouse. With the series tied at two games a piece, the Nets won game 5 over the Pacers at the Continental Airlines Arena in double-overtime, 120–109 to win in a hard-fought five-game series;^[18][19] it was the first time that the Nets won an NBA playoff series since the 1983–84 season.^[20]

In the Eastern Conference semifinals, the team faced off against the fourth–seeded Charlotte Hornets, a team that featured All-Star guard Baron Davis, David Wesley and Elden Campbell; the Hornets were without scoring leader Jamal Mashburn, who was out due to a season-ending lower abdominal strain injury.^[21][22] The Nets took a 2–0 series lead over the Hornets, before losing game 3 on the road, 115–97 at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Nets won the next two games over the Hornets, including a game 5 home win at the Continental Airlines Arena, 103–95 to win the series in five games.^[23][24]

In the Eastern Conference finals, the Nets then faced off against the third–seeded Boston Celtics, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Paul Pierce, All-Star forward Antoine Walker, and former Nets guard Kenny Anderson. The Nets won game 1 over the Celtics at the Continental Airlines Arena, 104–97, but then lost the next two games, which included a game 3 road loss at the FleetCenter, 94–90 as the Celtics took a 2–1 series lead.^[25][26] However, the Nets managed to win the next three games, including a game 6 win over the Celtics at the FleetCenter, 96–88 to win the series in six games, and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.^[27][28]

In the 2002 NBA Finals, the Nets faced off against the third–seeded, and two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher. The Nets lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Staples Center, before losing the next two games at home, including a game 4 loss to the Lakers at the Continental Airlines Arena, 113–107, thus losing the series in a four-game sweep, as the Lakers won their third consecutive NBA championship.^[29][30]

The Nets finished 26th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 564,194 at the Continental Airlines Arena during the regular season, which was the fourth-lowest in the league.^[9][31] Following the season, Van Horn and MacCulloch were both traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, whom MacCulloch had previously played for.^[32][33]

• Forward/center Jamie Feick was on the injured reserve list due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, and missed the entire regular season.^[6][34]

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

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.^[35] The duo appeared on the All-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with an NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection.^[36][37]

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.^[38] 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.^[39] 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.^[38] 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.^[40]

With the Princeton offense installed from the coaching staff,^[41] 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^[36] and All-Defensive Teams^[37] 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.^[42] Richard Jefferson was an NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awarded NBA Executive of the Year.^[43]

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.

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.^[44] Kidd finished with a triple–double, the 26th in Finals history and the first since Charles Barkley's in the 1993 series.

Recap

The second game was more of a 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

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

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

As of April 17, 2002^[45][9]

As of June 12, 2002^[46][9]

• Rod Thorn, NBA Executive of the Year
• Jason Kidd, All-NBA First Team
• Jason Kidd, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Richard Jefferson, NBA All-Rookie Team Second Team

• 2001–02 New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• 2001–02 New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference