2001–02 New Jersey Nets season

2001–02 New Jersey Nets season
Atlantic Division champions
Eastern Conference champions
Head coach Byron Scott
Owner(s) Yankee Global Enterprises LLC
Arena Continental Airlines Arena
Results
Record 52–30 (.634)
Place Division: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(eliminated 0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television Fox Sports Net New York, WLNY
Radio WFAN
< 2000–01 2002–03 >

The 2001–02 season saw the Nets finishing first in the Eastern Conference with 52 win and 30 losses, their best record since joining the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.

In the offseason, the Nets had traded point guard Stephon Marbury to the Phoenix Suns, for Jason Kidd.[1] Kidd was credited for most of turn-around—the Nets had finished 26–56 the previous year—and finished second to the Spurs' Tim Duncan in MVP voting.[2] Kidd was fortunate to join the team when he did, as the team reaped the benefits of the newly healthy Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn; along with the trading of Eddie Griffin for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong.

Under Kidd's guidance, the young Nets team prospered through the playoffs and ended up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference title and the franchise's first-ever appearance in the NBA Finals. However, New Jersey's season would end without an improbable NBA crown, as Kidd and the Nets were swept in four games by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 7 Eddie Griffin Forward  United States Seton Hall
2 35 Brian Scalabrine Forward  United States USC

Roster

2001–02 New Jersey Nets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
G 1 Armstrong, Brandon style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1980–06–16 Pepperdine
C 35 Collins, Jason style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1978–12–02 Stanford
G 10 Dial, Derrick style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1975–12–20 Eastern Michigan
F 54 Goodrich, Steve style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1976–03–18 Princeton
G 12 Harris, Lucious style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–12–18 Long Beach State
F 24 Jefferson, Richard style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1980–06–21 Arizona
G 8 Johnson, Anthony style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1974–10–02 College of Charleston
G 5 Kidd, Jason style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1973–03–23 California
G 30 Kittles, Kerry style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1974–06–12 Villanova
C 11 MacCulloch, Todd style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1976–01–27 Washington
F 13 Marshall, Donny style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1972–07–17 Connecticut
F 6 Martin, Kenyon style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1977–12–30 Cincinnati
F 21 Scalabrine, Brian style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) 1978–03–18 Southern California
F 50 Slater, Reggie style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1970–08–27 Wyoming
F 44 Van Horn, Keith style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1975–10–23 Utah
F/C 34 Williams, Aaron style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1971–10–02 Xavier
Head coach
  • Byron Scott
Assistant coach(es)


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Depth Chart

Pos. Starter Bench Reserve Inactive
C Todd MacCulloch Jason Collins
PF Kenyon Martin Aaron Williams Brian Scalabrine
SF Keith Van Horn Richard Jefferson Donny Marshall
SG Kerry Kittles Lucious Harris
PG Jason Kidd Anthony Johnson Brandon Armstrong

Regular season

Standings

Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 – 33–8 19–22 16–8
x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3 27–14 22–19 17–7
x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8 27–14 17–24 12–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9 22–19 21–20 14–11
Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15 22–19 15–26 12–13
Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16 18–23 18–23 10–14
New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22 19–22 11–30 4–20
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 –
2 y-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 2
3 x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3
4 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 8
5 x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8
6 x-Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9
7 x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 10
8 x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 10
9 Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 11
10 Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15
11 Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16
12 Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 19
13 New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22
14 Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 354 23
15 Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 31

Game log

2001–02 game log
Total: 52–30 (Home: 33–8; Road: 19–22)
2001–02 season schedule

Playoffs

Game log

2002 playoff game log
Total: 11–9 (Home: 7–4; Road: 4–5)
2002 playoff schedule

Player stats

Regular season

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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Armstrong, BrandonBrandon Armstrong 35 0 5.6 .318 .294 .500 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.0 1.8
Collins, JasonJason Collins 77 9 18.3 .421 .500 .701 3.9 1.1 0.4 0.6 4.5
Dial, DerrickDerrick Dial 25 0 10.0 .319 .000 .722 1.8 1.2 0.3 0.2 2.9
Goodrich, SteveSteve Goodrich 9 0 5.6 .200 .000 .500 0.6 0.6 0.1 0.2 0.6
Harris, LuciousLucious Harris 74 0 21.0 .464 .373 .842 2.8 1.6 0.7 0.1 9.1
Jefferson, RichardRichard Jefferson 79 9 24.3 .457 .232 .713 3.7 1.8 0.8 0.6 9.4
Johnson, AnthonyAnthony Johnson 34 0 10.8 .411 .333 .640 0.9 1.4 0.9 0.0 2.8
Kidd, JasonJason Kidd 82 82 37.3 .391 .321 .814 7.3 9.9 2.1 0.2 14.7
Kittles, KerryKerry Kittles 82 82 31.7 .466 .405 .744 3.4 2.6 1.6 0.4 13.4
MacCulloch, ToddTodd MacCulloch 62 61 24.2 .531 .000 .671 6.1 1.3 0.4 1.4 9.7
Marshall, DonnyDonny Marshall 20 0 5.9 .276 .500 .667 1.1 0.3 0.2 0.0 1.5
Martin, KenyonKenyon Martin 73 73 34.3 .463 .224 .678 5.3 2.6 1.2 1.7 14.9
Scalabrine, BrianBrian Scalabrine 28 0 10.4 .343 .300 .733 1.8 0.8 0.3 0.1 2.1
Slater, ReggieReggie Slater 4 0 2.5 1.000 .000 1.000 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.3
Van Horn, KeithKeith Van Horn 81 81 30.4 .433 .345 .800 7.5 2.0 0.8 0.5 14.8
Williams, AaronAaron Williams 82 13 18.9 .526 .000 .699 4.1 0.9 0.4 0.9 7.2

Postseason

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
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG

Awards and records

References

  1. ↑ "Nets' Shake-Up Ships Marbury for Suns' Kidd". New York Times. June 29, 2001.
  2. ↑ "Kidd Loses M.V.P. To Duncan, Officials Say". New York Times. May 7, 2002.