2001–02 Indiana Pacers season

The 2001–02 Indiana Pacers season was the 26th season for the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association, and their 35th season as a franchise.^[1] During the off-season, the Pacers acquired rookie point guard, and first-round draft pick Jamaal Tinsley out of Iowa State University from the Atlanta Hawks, who had acquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies,^[2][3][4] and signed free agent Carlos Rogers.^[5]

With the addition of Tinsley, the Pacers won six of their first eight games of the regular season, but then lost seven of their next nine games, and played around .500 in winning percentage for most of the first half of the season, holding a 25–25 record at the All-Star break.^[6] At mid-season, the team traded Jalen Rose, and Travis Best to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer and Kevin Ollie.^[7][8][9] With a 37–40 record as of April 8, 2002, the Pacers managed to win their final five games of the season, finishing in fourth place in the Central Division with a 42–40 record, and earning the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference;^[10][11][12] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.^[1]

Jermaine O'Neal averaged 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year,^[13][14][15] and was also named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Reggie Miller averaged 16.5 points per game and led the Pacers with 180 three-point field goals, while Brad Miller provided the team with 15.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 28 games after the trade, and Al Harrington played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, but was out for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL after 44 games.^[16][17][18] Meanwhile, Artest contributed 10.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game in 28 games, and Tinsley provided with 9.4 points, 8.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Off the bench, Jonathan Bender contributed 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while Austin Croshere provided with 6.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and Jeff Foster, who started at center for half of the regular season, averaged 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, O'Neal was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance.^[20][21][22] Meanwhile, Tinsley was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team,^[23][24] and also finished tied in third place in Rookie of the Year voting.^[25][26]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Pacers 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 Pacers won Game 1 over the Nets on the road, 89–83 at the Continental Airlines Arena,^[27] but then lost the next two games as the Nets took a 2–1 series lead. The Pacers managed to win Game 4 over the Nets at home, 97–74 at the Conseco Fieldhouse to even the series.^[28][29][30] However, the Pacers lost Game 5 to the Nets at the Continental Airlines Arena in double-overtime, 120–109, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[31][32][33] 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.^[34][35][36]

The Pacers finished 16th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 686,537 at the Conseco Fieldhouse during the regular season.^[19][37] Following the season, Ollie signed as a free agent with the Milwaukee Bucks,^[38] and Rogers was released to free agency.