2001–02 Boston Celtics season

The 2001–02 Boston Celtics season was the 56th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Celtics received the tenth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Joe Johnson from the University of Arkansas, and also selected small forward Kedrick Brown out of Okaloosa-Walton Community College with the eleventh overall pick.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Erick Strickland.^[5][6]

The Celtics struggled with a 5–6 start to the regular season, but then won 12 of their next 14 games, and later on held a 28–21 record at the All-Star break.^[7] At mid-season, the team traded Johnson, and Randy Brown to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Rodney Rogers, and Tony Delk.^[8][9][10] The Celtics posted a seven-game winning streak in March, and won eight of their final nine games of the season, finishing in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 49–33 record, and earning the third seed in the Eastern Conference; the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1994–95 season, ending a six-year playoff drought.^[11][1]

Paul Pierce averaged 26.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, contributed 210 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Antoine Walker averaged 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and led the Celtics with 222 three-point field goals, and Rogers contributed 10.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 27 games after the trade. In addition, Kenny Anderson provided the team with 9.6 points, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game, while Strickland provided with 7.7 points per game, and Delk contributed 7.4 points per game in 22 games. Meanwhile, Tony Battie averaged 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, Eric Williams contributed 6.4 points per game, and Vitaly Potapenko provided with 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.^[12]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pierce and Walker were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was Pierce's first ever All-Star appearance.^[13][14][15] In addition, Pierce also participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout,^[16][17] while before the mid-season trade, Johnson was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team.^[18][19]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Celtics faced off against the 6th–seeded Philadelphia 76ers, a team that featured All-Star guard Allen Iverson, All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo, and Derrick Coleman. The Celtics won the first two games over the 76ers at home at the FleetCenter, but then lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the 76ers at the First Union Center, 83–81.^[20][21][22] With the series tied at 2–2, the Celtics won Game 5 over the 76ers at the FleetCenter, 120–87, in which Pierce scored 46 points and made 8 out of 10 three-point field-goal attempts; the Celtics won the series over the 76ers in five hard-fought games, and advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1991–92 season.^[23][24][25]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Central Division champion Detroit Pistons, who were led by All-Star guard Jerry Stackhouse, Clifford Robinson, and Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace. The Celtics lost Game 1 to the Pistons on the road, 96–84 at The Palace of Auburn Hills,^[26][27][28] but managed to win Game 2 on the road, 85–77 to even the series. The Celtics won their next two home games, including a Game 4 win over the Pistons at the FleetCenter, 90–79 to take a 3–1 series lead. The Celtics won Game 5 over the Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 90–81 to win the series in five games, and advance to the Conference Finals for the first time since the 1987–88 season.^[29][30][31]

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics then faced off against the top–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion New Jersey Nets, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Jason Kidd, second-year star Kenyon Martin, and Keith Van Horn. The Celtics lost Game 1 to the Nets on the road, 104–97 at the Continental Airlines Arena, but managed to win the next two games, including a Game 3 home win over the Nets at the FleetCenter, 94–90 to take a 2–1 series lead.^[32][33][34] However, the Celtics lost the next three games, including a Game 6 loss to the Nets at the FleetCenter, 96–88, thus losing the series in six games.^[35][36][37] The Nets would advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but would lose to the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in a four-game sweep in the 2002 NBA Finals.^[38][39][40]

The Celtics finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 659,751 at the FleetCenter during the regular season.^[12][41] Following the season, Anderson and Potapenko were both traded to the Seattle SuperSonics,^[42][43][44] while Rogers signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets,^[45][46][47] Strickland signed with the Indiana Pacers,^[48][49] and Mark Blount signed with the Denver Nuggets.