The2001–02 Indiana Pacers season was the 26th season for theIndiana Pacers in theNational Basketball Association, and their 35th season as a franchise.^[1] During the off-season, the Pacers acquired point guard, and first-round draft pickJamaal Tinsley out ofIowa State University from theAtlanta Hawks, who had acquired him from theMemphis Grizzlies,^[2][3][4] and signed free agentCarlos Rogers.^[5]

The Pacers won six of their first eight games of the regular season, but then lost seven of their next nine games and played around .500 basketball for most of the first half of the season, holding a 25–25 record at the All-Star break.^[6] At mid-season, the team tradedJalen Rose andTravis Best to theChicago Bulls in exchange forRon Artest,Brad Miller,Ron Mercer andKevin Ollie.^[7][8][9] With a 37–40 record in mid April, the Pacers would win their final five games of the regular season, and sneak into theNBA playoffs as the eighth seed in theEastern Conference,^[10][11] finishing in fourth place in theCentral Division with a 42–40 record.^[12]

Jermaine O'Neal averaged 19.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and was named theNBA Most Improved Player of the Year,^[13][14][15] and was named to theAll-NBA Third Team. In addition,Reggie Miller finished second on the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game, whileAl Harrington played a sixth man role off the bench, averaging 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, but was out for the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL after 44 games.^[16][17][18] Tinsley averaged 9.4 points, 8.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to theNBA All-Rookie Second Team.^[19]

During theNBA All-Star weekend at theFirst Union Center inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, O'Neal was selected for the2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance.^[20][21][22] Meanwhile, Tinsley was selected for theNBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team,^[23][24] and also finished tied in third place inRookie of the Year voting.^[25][26]

However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the2002 NBA playoffs, the Pacers would lose in five games to the top-seededNew Jersey Nets, including a double overtime road loss in Game 5, which the Nets won 120–109.^[27][28][29] The Nets would go on to reach theNBA Finals for the first time, but would lose to the 2-time defending NBA championLos Angeles Lakers in four straight games.^[30][31][32]

Following the season, Rogers was released to free agency.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	40	Jamison Brewer	PG	United States	Auburn

2001–02 Indiana Pacers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 15 Ron Artest 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) 1979–11–13 St. John's F 24 Jonathan Bender 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1980–01–30 Picayune Memorial HS (MS) G 2 Jamison Brewer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1980–11–09 Auburn C 27 Primož Brezec 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 252 lb (114 kg) 1979–10–02 Slovenia F 44 Austin Croshere 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1975–05–01 Providence C 10 Jeff Foster 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1977–01–16 Texas State F 3 Al Harrington  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1980–02–17 St. Patrick HS (NJ) G 5 Ron Mercer 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1976–05–18 Kentucky C 52 Brad Miller 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 244 lb (111 kg) 1976–04–12 Purdue G 31 Reggie Miller 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1965–08–24 UCLA F 7 Jermaine O'Neal 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1978–10–13 Eau Claire HS (SC) G 12 Kevin Ollie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1972–12–27 Connecticut F 6 Carlos Rogers 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1971–02–06 Tennessee State C 40 Bruno Sundov 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1980–02–10 Croatia G 11 Jamaal Tinsley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1978–02–28 Iowa State

Head coach Isiah Thomas Assistant(s) Vern Fleming Brendan Malone Tree Rollins Jim Staak Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: 2002-02-19

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• Jermaine O'Neal,NBA Most Improved Player Award
• Jermaine O'Neal,NBA All-Star Game
• Jermaine O'Neal,All-NBA Third Team
• Jamaal Tinsley,NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Player Transactions Citation:^[33]

• Indiana Pacers seasons
• 2001 in sports in Indiana
• 2002 in sports in Indiana
• 2001–02 NBA season by team

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