2001–02 Toronto Raptors season

Off-season

During the off-season, the Raptors acquired All-Star center, and 2-time NBA Champion Hakeem Olajuwon from the Houston Rockets.^[2][3][4]

Regular season

With the addition of Olajuwon, the Raptors played solid basketball with a 29–21 record at the All-Star break.^[5] However, throughout the regular season, All-Star guard and team captain Vince Carter struggled with a left knee injury, and managed to play only 60 games.^[6][7][8] The team suffered a 13-game losing streak between February and March, losing 17 of their next 18 games,^[9][10] but soon recovered by posting a nine-game winning streak between March and April,^[11][12] winning 12 of their final 14 games of the season. Despite losing Carter for the remainder of the season, the Raptors finished in third place in the Central Division with a 42–40 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.^[13][14]

Carter averaged 24.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and led the Raptors with 121 three-point field goals, while Antonio Davis averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, and second-year forward Morris Peterson showed improvement, as he provided the team with 14.0 points per game. In addition, Alvin Williams contributed 11.8 points, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while Keon Clark provided with 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Olajuwon averaged 7.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Meanwhile, three-point specialist Dell Curry contributed 6.4 points per game, and Chris Childs provided with 4.1 points and 5.1 assists per game.^[15]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Carter was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, but did not participate due to his knee injury.^[16][17][18] Meanwhile, Peterson was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team, but did not participate due to injury.^[19][20] The Raptors finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 810,160 at the Air Canada Centre during the regular season.^[15][21]

NBA playoffs

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Raptors 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. However, without Carter, the Raptors lost the first two games to the Pistons on the road, struggling in Game 1 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, in which the team lost to the Pistons, 85–63, only shooting .299 in field-goal percentage.^[22] The Raptors managed to win the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Pistons at the Air Canada Centre, 89–83 to tie the series at 2–2.^[23][24][25] However, the Raptors lost Game 5 to the Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 85–82, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[26][27][28]

Aftermath

Following the season, Olajuwon retired after eighteen seasons in the NBA.^[29][30][31] Meanwhile, Childs re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the New Jersey Nets,^[32][33] while Clark signed with the Sacramento Kings,^[34][35] Tracy Murray was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on draft day,^[36][37] and Curry also retired.

The Raptors would not return to the NBA playoffs again until the 2006–07 season.^[1]

Standings

Game log

Game log

Regular season

Playoffs