2001–02 Washington Wizards season

2001–02 Washington Wizards season
Head coach Doug Collins
Owner(s) Abe Pollin
Arena MCI Center
Results
Record 37–45 (.451)
Place Division: 5th (Atlantic)
Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finish Did not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WDCA
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
Radio WTEM

The 2001–02 NBA season was the Wizards' 41st season in the National Basketball Association.[1] After finishing 19–63 the previous season, the Wizards won the Draft Lottery and selected high school star Kwame Brown with the first overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft.[2] This season marked the return of All-Star guard Michael Jordan, who came out of his retirement to play for the Wizards. The team also signed free agent Tyronn Lue, who previously won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Under new head coach Doug Collins, the Wizards struggled with a 2–9 start, but then posted a nine-game winning streak in December holding a 26–21 record before the All-Star break. However, they lost 24 of their final 35 games finishing the season fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 37–45 record, which was an 18-game improvement. However, they still missed the playoffs even with the help of Jordan, who was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. Brown failed to live up to expectations only playing limited minutes off the bench.

Following the season, Richard Hamilton was traded along with Hubert Davis to the Detroit Pistons, Chris Whitney was traded to the Denver Nuggets, second-year guard Courtney Alexander was dealt to the New Orleans Hornets and Tyrone Nesby was released.

Offseason

During the offseason, the team fired head coach Leonard Hamilton and replaced him with Doug Collins.

On July 18, the Wizards signed Tyronn Lue, who would be Chris Whitney's backup during the season. A week later, the team waived forward Michael Smith.

On August 1, the Wizards traded Laron Profit and a 2005 1st round draft pick to the Orlando Magic for Brendan Haywood. Haywood would play with the Wizards for almost nine years, until he was traded in February 2010.

On September 25, the Wizards signed Michael Jordan. Jordan, at 38 years old, would be the team's points-per-game leader during the season. He also led the team in assists per game.

On October 8, the Wizards waived small forward Mike Smith.

On October 24, the team released Kornél Dávid.

NBA Draft

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 1 Kwame Brown Center  United States Glynn Academy (Brunswick, GA)

Roster

Washington Wizards roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 4 United States Alexander, Courtney 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fresno State
F/C 5 United States Brown, Kwame 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Glynn Academy (HS)
G 24 United States Davis, Hubert  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina
G/F 32 United States Hamilton, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Connecticut
C 3 United States Haywood, Brendan 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 268 lb (122 kg) North Carolina
F 54 United States Jones, Popeye 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Murray State
G/F 23 United States Jordan, Michael  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) North Carolina
F/C 44 United States Laettner, Christian 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Duke
G 10 United States Lue, Tyronn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nebraska
F 8 United States Nesby, Tyrone 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UNLV
G/F 21 United States Simmons, Bobby 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) DePaul
F/C 36 United States Thomas, Etan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Syracuse
F/C 55 United States White, Jahidi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Georgetown
G 12 United States Whitney, Chris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Clemson
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Michael Jordan

After retiring from the Chicago Bulls in early 1999, Michael Jordan became the Washington Wizards' president of basketball operations as well as a minority owner in January 2000. However, in September 2001, Michael Jordan came out of retirement at age 38 to play basketball for the Washington Wizards. Jordan stated that he was returning "for the love of the game." Because of NBA rules, he had to divest himself of any ownership of the team. Before the All-Star break, Jordan was only one of two players, along with Kobe Bryant, to average more than 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists as he led the Wizards to a 26–21 record, and the only player to average more than 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Tracy McGrady would become the only player to average at least 25-6-5 by the end of the 2001-02 season

However, in the last game before the All-star break, Jordan suffered a knee injury in a collision with Etan Thomas on February 7 against the Sacramento Kings.[3][4] The Wizards would lose 9 of their next 10 games following Jordan's knee injury. It is also worth noting that Rip Hamilton missed 5 weeks of playing time due to a groin injury[5] in the Wizards' 26-21 stretch. Starting with a November 28 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Wizards were 15-1 in the last 16 games that Jordan and Hamilton played together prior to Jordan's injury on February 7.[6] After the all-star break, Jordan's knee could not handle the workload of a full-season as he ended the season on the injured list, and the Wizards concluded the season with a 37–45 record. Still, Jordan had led the Wizards to an 18-win improvement from the previous season.

The immediate impact of Jordan's presence was seen on the Wizards' popularity and media presence. The team that ranked 18th in NBA home attendance and 26th in road one rose to third and second respectively, selling out every game at the MCI Center and only failing to do so in the three away games following Jordan's injury. Ratings rose on NBC, TNT and foreign cable.[7][8]

Standings

Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New Jersey Nets 5230.634–33–819–2216–8
x-Boston Celtics 4933.598327–1422–1917–7
x-Orlando Magic 4438.537827–1417–2412–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers 4339.524922–1921–2014–11
Washington Wizards 3745.4511522–1915–2612–13
Miami Heat 3646.4391618–2318–2310–14
New York Knicks 3052.3662219–2211–304–20

[9]

Record vs. opponents

2001-02 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MEM MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–22–23–13–10–22–01–32–01–11–31–11–12–03–11–30–22–11–31–31–31–11–10–20–20–20–41–10–3
Boston 2–2—2–12–24–00–22–02–21–10–23–02–02–02–03–11–31–13–14–03–11–31–11–10–20–21–12–21–13–1
Charlotte 2–21–2—4–03–10–22–01–32–01–13–11–10–21–13–02–20–21–32–23–11–32–01–10–21–11–12–21–13–1
Chicago 1–32–20–4—1–30–20–21–31–12–00–40–22–01–11–32–20–20–43–10–31–21–10–20–20–21–10–40–21–3
Cleveland 1–30–41–33–1—0–21–11–31–12–02–20–20–21–13–13–12–01–32–21–30–31–10–20–21–10–21–30–21–2
Dallas 2–02–02–02–02–0—4–01–14–02–22–02–21–34–01–12–02–22–01–11–11–13–12–23–11–33–11–13–11–1
Denver 0–20–20–22–01–10–4—0–21–32–20–21–31–33–10–20–22–21–12–00–21–13–12–20–40–43–11–11–30–2
Detroit 3–12–23–13–13–11–12–0—1–11–13–11–10–22–02–12–21–13–13–12–22–11–10–20–20–21–13–11–14–0
Golden State 0–21–10–21–11–10–43–11–1—1–30–22–21–33–10–20–21–31–11–10–21–10–42–20–40–40–40–20–41–1
Houston 1–12–01–10–20–22–22–21–13–1—0–21–30–41–30–21–12–20–21–10–21–12–21–30–40–42–21–12–21–1
Indiana 3–10–31–34–02–20–22–01–32–02–0—1–10–21–12–21–31–11–32–13–13–11–11–12–01–10–21–31–13–1
L.A. Clippers 1–10–21–12–02–02–23–11–12–23–11–1—1–33–12–01–12–20–22–01–10–23–11–31–31–31–31–10–41–1
L.A. Lakers 1–10–22–00–22–03–13–12–03–14–02–03–1—3–11–12–02–21–12–02–01–12–22–23–13–13–11–13–12–0
Memphis 0–20–21–11–11–10–41–30–21–33–11–11–31–3—1–10–20–40–21–10–22–01–32–21–30–40–41–13–10–2
Miami 1–31–30–33–11–31–12–01–22–02–02–20–21–11–1—3–10–21–32–23–11–31–11–10–21–12–01–30–22–2
Milwaukee 3–13–12–22–21–30–22–02–22–01–13–11–10–22–01–3—0–21–21–32–11–30–20–20–22–00–24–02–03–1
Minnesota 2–01–12–02–00–22–22–21–13–12–21–12–22–24–02–02–0—1–12–01–11–12–22–21–32–22–21–13–12–0
New Jersey 1–21–33–14–03–10–21–11–31–12–03–12–01–12–03–12–11–1—4–03–12–21–11–11–12–01–12–21–13–1
New York 3–10–42–21–32–21–10–21–31–11–11–20–20–21–12–23–10–20–4—0–41–31–11–11–10–22–03–01–11–3
Orlando 3–11–31–33–03–11–12–02–22–02–01–31–10–22–01–31–21–11–34–0—3–12–00–21–10–20–23–11–12–2
Philadelphia 3–13–13–12–13–01–11–11–21–11–11–32–01–10–23–13–11–12–23–11–3—2–00–20–21–11–11–30–22–3
Phoenix 1–11–10–21–11–11–31–31–14–02–21–11–32–23–11–12–02–21–11–10–20–2—2–21–31–32–21–12–20–2
Portland 1–11–11–12–02–02–22–22–02–23–11–13–12–22–21–12–02–21–11–12–02–02–2—2–21–33–11–11–32–0
Sacramento 2–02–02–02–02–01–34–02–04–04–00–23–11–33–12–02–03–11–11–11–12–03–12–2—3–12–22–04–01–1
San Antonio 2–02–01–12–01–13–14–02–04–04–01–13–11–34–01–10–22–20–22–02–01–13–13–11–3—2–21–14–02–0
Seattle 2–01–11–11–12–01–31–31–14–02–22–03–11–34–00–22–02–21–10–22–01–12–21–32–22–2—2–01–31–1
Toronto 4–02–22–24–03–11–11–11–32–01–13–11–11–11–13–10–41–12–20–31–33–11–11–10–21–10–2—1–11–2
Utah 1–11–11–12–02–01–33–11–14–02–21–14–01–31–32–00–21–31–11–11–12–02–23–10–40–43–11–1—2–0
Washington 3–01–31–33–12–11–12–00–41–11–11–31–10–22–02–21–30–21–33–12–23–22–00–21–10–21–12–10–2—

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; SPG= Steals per Game; RPG = Rebounds per Game; APG. = Assists per Game; BPG = Blocks per Game; PPG = Points per Game

Player GP MPG STL RPG APG BLK PPG
Michael Jordan60855.75.22622.9
Richard Hamilton63383.42.71420.0
Chris Whitney82721.93.8610.2
Courtney Alexander56352.61.579.8
Tyronn Lue71491.73.507.8
Hubert Davis51281.52.137.2
Christian Laettner57605.32.6257.1
Popeye Jones79507.31.6197.0
Tyrone Nesby70614.51.3226.3
Jahidi White71256.30.2755.4
Brendan Haywood62215.20.5915.1
Kwame Brown57163.50.8264.5
Etan Thomas47173.90.1354.3
Bobby Simmons30131.70.653.7

References

  1. ↑ 2001-02 Washington Wizards
  2. ↑ "PRO BASKETBALL; Three High School Stars Are Among First Four Chosen". New York Times. June 28, 2001. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/nba/games/2002-02-07-wizards-kings.htm
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgrUd9jUJLc
  5. ↑ http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/comment/2002-02-28-oconnor.htm
  6. ↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilri01/gamelog/2002/
  7. ↑ His playing career ends -- with frustration, betrayal and flashes of brilliance
  8. ↑ When Nothing Else Matters: Michael Jordan's Last Comeback
  9. ↑ 2001–02 NBA Season Summary – Basketball-Reference.com
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