2001–02 Dallas Mavericks season
NBA professional basketball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2001–02 NBA season was the Mavericks' 22nd season in the National Basketball Association.[1] It was also their first season playing at American Airlines Center.[2] During the off-season, the Mavericks acquired All-Star point guard Tim Hardaway from the Miami Heat,[3][4][5][6] and signed free agents Adrian Griffin,[7][8] Johnny Newman,[9] and Danny Manning.[10][11] The Mavericks continued to play solid basketball winning ten straight games between December and January, then post a 7-game winning streak also in January as they held a 35–14 record at the All-Star break.[12] At midseason, Hardaway was traded along with Juwan Howard to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz.[13][14][15][16] The Mavericks finished fourth in the Western Conference, and second in the Midwest Division with a 57–25 record,[17] and made the playoffs in back to back seasons for the first time since 1988.
2001–02 Dallas Mavericks season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Head coach | Don Nelson | ||
General manager | Don Nelson | ||
President | Donnie Nelson | ||
Owner(s) | Mark Cuban | ||
Arena | American Airlines Center | ||
Results | |||
Record | 57–25 (.695) | ||
Place | Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 4th (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | Conference semifinals (lost to Kings 1–4) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | |||
Radio | KRLD | ||
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Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash were both selected to the 2002 NBA All-Star Game for the first time in their careers, while head coach Don Nelson was voted to coach the Western Conference.[18][19][20] Nowitzki led the team with 23.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Nash averaged 17.9 points and led the team with 7.7 assists per game, and was selected to the All-NBA Third Team, and Michael Finley provided the team with 20.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[21] Nowitzki also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Nash finished in fourteenth place in Most Valuable Player voting,[22] and also finished in third place in Most Improved Player voting.[23][24]
In the Western Conference First Round, the Mavericks swept the Minnesota Timberwolves in three straight games,[25][26][27][28] but then lost in five games to the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference Semi-finals.[29][30][31][32] Following the season, Greg Buckner signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers,[33][34] while Newman retired, and Manning was released to free agency, and signed with the Detroit Pistons midway through the next season.[35]
For the season, the Mavericks changed their primary logo, which showed a horse in front of a blue basketball above the team name "Mavericks",[36] and also changed their uniforms, adding dark navy blue and light blue along with grey and black to their color scheme.[37][38] The home jerseys remained in use until 2014, while the road jerseys lasted until 2010. Their primary logo is still present as of 2024.