The2001–02 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 35th season in theNational Basketball Association, and 26th season inEast Rutherford, New Jersey.^[1] This season is notable for the Nets acquiring All-Star point guardJason Kidd from thePhoenix Suns during the off-season.^[2][3] The team received the seventh overall pick in the2001 NBA draft, and selected power forwardEddie Griffin out ofSeton Hall University, but soon traded him to theHouston Rockets in exchange for small forward, and top draft pickRichard Jefferson from theUniversity of Arizona, and rookie centerJason Collins out ofStanford University,^[4][5] and signed free agentTodd MacCulloch.^[6]

The Nets won nine of their first twelve games of the regular season, held a 26–11 record as of January 16, 2002, and then held a 32–15 record at the All-Star break.^[7] The team finished in first place in theAtlantic Division with a 52–30 record, their best record since joining the NBA after theABA–NBA merger in 1976, and earning the first seed in theEastern Conference.^[8] As of the2024–25 NBA season^[update], this was the only season where the Nets won 50 or more games.

Kidd was credited for most of the turnaround, as the Nets had finished 26–56 the previous year; Kidd averaged 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 9.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and was named to theAll-NBA First Team, and to theNBA All-Defensive First Team. In addition, second-year starKenyon Martin averaged 14.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, whileKeith Van Horn provided the team with 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, andKerry Kittles, who returned after missing the previous season due to knee injuries, contributed 13.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Jefferson averaged 9.4 points per game off the bench, and was named to theNBA All-Rookie Second Team, while MacCulloch provided with 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, andLucious Harris contributed 9.1 points per game off the bench.^[9]

During theNBA All-Star Weekend at theFirst Union Center inPhiladelphia, Kidd was selected for the2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while head coachByron Scott was selected to coach the Eastern Conference.^[10][11] Meanwhile, Martin was selected for theNBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the sophomore team.^[12][13] Kidd also finished in second place inMost Valuable Player voting, behindTim Duncan of theSan Antonio Spurs,^[14][15] while Jefferson finished in second place inRookie of the Year voting, behindPau Gasol of theMemphis Grizzlies,^[16][15] and Scott finished in third place inCoach of the Year voting.^[17][15]

Under the guidance of Kidd and Martin, the young Nets team prospered through the2002 NBA playoffs, and ended up advancing all the way to the Eastern Conference title and the franchise's first-ever appearance in theNBA Finals. In the Eastern Conference first round, they defeated theIndiana Pacers in five games,^[18][19] then defeated theCharlotte Hornets 4–1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.^[20][21] Then after trailing 2–1 to the third-seededBoston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals,^[22][23] the Nets won the series 4–2.^[24][25] However, New Jersey's season would end without an improbable NBA crown, as the Nets were swept in four games by the two-time defending NBA championLos Angeles Lakers.^[26][27]

Following the season, Van Horn and MacCulloch were both traded to thePhiladelphia 76ers, whom MacCulloch had previously played for.^[28][29]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	7	Eddie Griffin	Forward	United States	Seton Hall
2	35	Brian Scalabrine	Forward	United States	USC

2001–02 New Jersey Nets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 1 Brandon Armstrong 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1980-06-16 Pepperdine C 35 Jason Collins 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1978-12-02 Stanford F/C 14 Jamie Feick  (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1974-07-03 Michigan State G 12 Lucious Harris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970-12-18 Long Beach State F 24 Richard Jefferson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1980-06-21 Arizona G 8 Anthony Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1974-10-02 College of Charleston G 5 Jason Kidd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1973-03-23 California G 30 Kerry Kittles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1974-06-12 Villanova C 11 Todd MacCulloch 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1976-01-27 Washington F 13 Donny Marshall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1972-07-17 Connecticut F 6 Kenyon Martin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1977-12-30 Cincinnati F 21 Brian Scalabrine 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) 1978-03-18 USC F 44 Keith Van Horn 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1975-10-23 Utah F/C 34 Aaron Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1972-10-02 Xavier

Head coach Byron Scott Assistant(s) Lawrence Frank Eddie Jordan Mike O'Koren Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (IN) Inactive Injured Roster Updated: January 7, 2002

• Forward/centerJamie Feick was on theinjured reserve list due to a ruptured Achilles tendon, and missed the entire regular season.^[6][30]

The following scoring summary is written in aline score format, except that the quarter numbers are replaced by game numbers.

Amid tensions between co-captainsShaquille O'Neal andKobe Bryant, the franchise had another stellar season, finishing 58–24 (.707), good for second in thePacific Division and earning the third seed in theWestern Conference. Bryant and O'Neal were voted starters in the2002 NBA All-Star Game, where Bryant won thegame MVP trophy in his hometownPhiladelphia.^[31] The duo appeared on theAll-NBA First Team and Bryant was honored with anNBA All-Defensive Second Team selection.^[32][33]

Entering the 2001–02 season, the New Jersey Nets were enduring a three-year playoff drought and had a 73–141 record over that span. In 1999, the Nets hiredRod Thorn as team president and immediately, he hired the recently retiredByron Scott to coach New Jersey. Thorn then dealt forStephon Marbury in a three-team trade with theMilwaukee Bucks andMinnesota Timberwolves, tradingSam Cassell away to the Bucks.^[34] Due to the Nets' 31–51 season in1999–00 season, they had the first overall pick in the2000 NBA draft, which they used to selectpower forwardKenyon Martin out of theUniversity of Cincinnati.^[35] Despite the reshuffling of the roster and aRookie of the Year season for Martin, New Jersey struggled, ending the season with a 26–56 (.317) record, and were bestowed the 7th pick in theupcoming Draft.

With another lottery pick, Thorn dealt it to theHouston Rockets for drafteesRichard Jefferson,Jason Collins andBrandon Armstrong.^[34] The next day,Phoenix Suns ownerJerry Colangelo announced a franchise-shaking trade; Phoenix would swap their point guardJason Kidd for his New Jersey counterpart Stephon Marbury.^[36]

With thePrinceton offense installed from the coaching staff,^[37] the Nets rebounded to a 52–30 (.634) mark, a twenty-six-win improvement from the last season, and clinched the number-one seed in theEastern Conference. Kidd finished the season awarded with first team spots on both theAll-NBA^[32] andAll-Defensive Teams^[33] and was selected for his fifthAll-Star game. He also finished runner-up toSan Antonio Spurs power forwardTim Duncan in theMost Valuable Player voting.^[38] Richard Jefferson was anNBA All-Rookie Second Team selection and Thorn, the architect of the franchise's resurgence, was awardedNBA Executive of the Year.^[39]

Los Angeles'sStaples Center sold out for the inaugural game of the 2002 NBA Finals, with nearly 19,000 on hand. The Nets trotted out a lineup of Kidd, Kittles, Martin, Van Horn and MacCulloth to hold up against the two-time defending and heavily favored champions. The Lakers brought out Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Horry, and Kobe Bryant, who drew the assignment of guarding Kidd. New Jersey head coachByron Scott, a member of theShowtime Lakers, received a standing ovation.

Taking advantage of a late arrival to the arena by New Jersey, L.A. dominated the first 17 minutes of play with a 42–19 score by the 6:41 mark in the second quarter. From that point on, the Nets went on a 17–6 to close the lead to a respectable 12. They had no answer for O'Neal, however, who had bullied MacCulloth into 16 points and 6 rebounds by half-time. The Nets outscored the Lakers in the third but stood steadfast as Bryant scored 11 of his 22 in the third.

New Jersey battled back, coming as close as three several times in the final quarter. Desperate to take the lead, they utilized the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy midway in the fourth. It backfired, as O'Neal was 5–8 from the free throw line and had 16 points and 9 rebounds in the period alone.

New Jersey was doomed by their late start and poor shooting. The Nets, who shot 45% from the field and 74% on free throws were 39% and 57% respectively.^[40] Kidd finished with a triple–double, the 26th in Finals history and the first sinceCharles Barkley's in the1993 series.

Recap

The second game was more of a statement as the Lakers clobbered the Nets by a score of 106-83 thanks toShaquille O'Neal's 40 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.

Recap

Game Three would prove to a hard-fought game (much like the first game of the series) as the Lakers and Nets would trade leads throughout the game but thanks toKobe Bryant's 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks the Lakers prevail by a score of 106–103 to take a commanding 3–0 series lead.

Recap

Despite this being a hard-fought battle (much like the previous game and as well as the first game of the series) the Lakers still won game four and the championship, giving Phil Jackson hisRed Auerbach-tying ninth title and the Lakers their third consecutive title (and fourteenth overall) making them the fifth team to win three consecutive titles and denying the Nets their first ever championship since the franchise moved toEast Rutherford.

Recap

As of April 17, 2002^[41][9]

As of June 12, 2002^[42][9]

• Rod Thorn,NBA Executive of the Year
• Jason Kidd,All-NBA First Team
• Jason Kidd,NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Richard Jefferson,NBA All-Rookie Team Second Team

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• 2001–02 New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• 2001–02 New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference

• 2001–02 NBA season by team
• New Jersey Nets seasons
• 2001 in sports in New Jersey
• 2002 in sports in New Jersey
• 21st century in East Rutherford, New Jersey
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