2001–02 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 2001–02 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 53rd season for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, and their 39th season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[1] The city of Philadelphia hosted the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center this season. The 76ers were coming off of an NBA Finals defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, in which they won Game 1, but lost the next four games. During the off-season, the team re-acquired forward 76ers forward Derrick Coleman from the Charlotte Hornets, and acquired Corie Blount and Vonteego Cummings from the Golden State Warriors in a three-team trade,^[2][3][4] acquired Matt Harpring from the Cleveland Cavaliers,^[5][6][7] and signed free agent Derrick McKey midway through the season.^[8][9]

Despite the addition of Coleman and Harpring, the 76ers struggled losing their first five games of the regular season. Last season's Most Valuable Player Allen Iverson, Sixth Man Aaron McKie, and point guard Eric Snow were all sidelined due to injuries; Iverson was out with an elbow injury, while McKie had a shoulder injury, and Snow was out with a broken thumb.^[10][11][12] Also just four games into the season, center Matt Geiger retired.^[13][14] However, Iverson, McKie and Snow eventually returned as the team posted a seven-game winning streak after their bad start, but then posted a seven-game losing streak in December leading to a 8–14 start to the season. The 76ers played above .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, holding a 25–24 record at the All-Star break,^[15] and climbed back into playoff position by finishing in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 43–39 record, and earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.^[16]

Iverson averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 60 games, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Dikembe Mutombo averaged 11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. In addition, Coleman provided the team with 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while McKie provided with 12.2 points and 3.7 assists per game, Snow contributed 12.1 points, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and Harpring averaged 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Claxton contributed 7.2 points, 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while Blount averaged 3.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and McKey provided with 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.^[17]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Iverson and Mutombo were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was Mutombo's final All-Star appearance.^[18][19][20] Iverson also wore number #6 to honor Hall of Famer, and 76ers legend Julius Erving.^[21][22] Iverson finished in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[23] while Mutombo finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[24][23]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the 76ers faced off against the 3rd–seeded Boston Celtics, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Paul Pierce, All-Star forward Antoine Walker, and Kenny Anderson. The 76ers lost the first two games to the Celtics on the road at the FleetCenter, but managed to win the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Celtics at the First Union Center, 83–81 to tie the series at 2–2.^[25][26][27] However, the 76ers lost Game 5 to the Celtics at the FleetCenter, 120–87, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[28][29][30]

The 76ers finished third in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 842,976 at the First Union Center during the regular season.^[17][31] Following the season, Mutombo was traded to the New Jersey Nets,^[32][33][34] while Harpring signed as a free agent with the Utah Jazz,^[35][36][37] rookie guard Speedy Claxton was traded to the San Antonio Spurs,^[38] Blount and Cummings were both released to free agency, and McKey retired.