2000–01 Phoenix Suns season

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, along with the addition of Delk and Elie, the Suns posted a seven-game winning streak early into the regular season, and held a 28–20 record at the All-Star break.^[8] The team posted another seven-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.^[1]

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,^[10][11] while Tom Gugliotta averaged 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but only played 57 games also due to injury, rookie center, and 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.^[12]

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.^[13][14][15] 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,^[16][17] while Marion was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team.^[18][19] Kidd finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[20] while Marion finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting;^[20] Kidd and Marion both finished tied in eleventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,^[20] while Rogers finished tied in sixth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and with Delk finishing tied in tenth place.^[20]

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,^[21][22][23] but then lost the next three games, which included 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.^[12][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 new primary logo, and new uniforms would both remain in use until 2013.