2001–02 Atlanta Hawks season

The 2001–02 Atlanta Hawks season was the 53rd season for the Atlanta Hawks in the National Basketball Association, and their 34th season in Atlanta, Georgia.^[1] The Hawks received the third overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected power forward, and Spanish basketball star Pau Gasol, but soon traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and rookie point guard, and first-round draft pick Jamaal Tinsley out of Iowa State University;^[2][3][4] however, Tinsley was soon traded to the Indiana Pacers.^[5][6][7] During the off-season, the team signed free agents Ira Newble, Jacque Vaughn and Emanual Davis;^[8][9][10] although Newble was released to free agency before the regular season began, he would later on be re-signed by the Hawks in January.^[11][12]

With the addition of Abdur-Rahim and Vaughn, the Hawks struggled losing six of their first seven games of the regular season, and later on posted a 3–12 record in January, while posting two six-game losing streaks between January and February. Theo Ratliff only played just three games due to a right hip injury, and was replaced with Nazr Mohammed as the team's starting center.^[13][14][15] The Hawks dealt with injuries all season long, as Toni Kukoč only played 59 games due to a broken right wrist,^[16] while Davis was out for the remainder of the season after 28 games due to a broken left wrist,^[11] Dion Glover only appeared in 55 games due to a broken right foot, Alan Henderson only played just 26 games due to a right knee injury, and Chris Crawford only appeared in just seven games due to a left knee injury.^[17][18]

However, after holding a 16–33 record at the All-Star break,^[19] the Hawks played above .500 in winning percentage by posting a 17–16 record for the remainder of the season, which included a 93–90 road win over the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on February 15, 2002,^[20][21][22] and posting a 9–7 record in March. The Hawks showed slight improvement by avoiding 50 losses, finishing in sixth place in the Central Division with a 33–49 record.^[23]

Abdur-Rahim averaged 21.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while Jason Terry averaged 19.3 points, 5.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and led the Hawks with 172 three-point field goals, and Mohammed provided the team with 9.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. In addition, Kukoč averaged 9.9 points and 3.6 assists per game off the bench, while Glover provided with 8.9 points per game, second-year forward DerMarr Johnson contributed 8.4 points per game, Newble averaged 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and Vaughn contributed 6.6 points and 4.3 assists per game. Meanwhile, Davis contributed 6.6 points per game, Henderson averaged 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Hanno Möttölä provided with 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.^[24]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Abdur-Rahim was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first and only All-Star appearance.^[25][26][27] Terry finished tied in 16th place in Most Improved Player voting,^[28] while Vaughn finished tied in eighth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[28]

The Hawks finished 27th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 506,110 at the Philips Arena during the regular season, which was the third-lowest in the league.^[24][29] Following the season, Kukoč was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks,^[30][31][32] while Vaughn signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic,^[33][34] and Möttölä was released to free agency.