2001–02 Phoenix Suns season

The 2001–02 NBA season was the 34th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the off-season, the Suns acquired All-Star point guard Stephon Marbury from the New Jersey Nets,[2][3][4][5] and re-signed former All-Star Suns guard and three-point specialist Dan Majerle, who was a member of the team when they appeared in the 1993 NBA Finals.[6][7][8] Early into the season, the team acquired Bo Outlaw from the Orlando Magic.[9][10] The Suns got off to a 18–13 start, but soon began to slip under .500 as the season progressed as head coach Scott Skiles struggled to a 25–26 record, and was replaced by former Suns guard Frank Johnson.[11][12] The Suns posted a six-game losing streak in March and lost eight of their final eleven games, finishing the regular season at 36–46, and missing the playoffs for the first time since 1988.[13] All home games were played at America West Arena.

2001–02 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach
General managerBryan Colangelo
Owner(s)Jerry Colangelo
ArenaAmerica West Arena
Results
Record36–46 (.439)
PlaceDivision: 6th (Pacific)
Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television
RadioKTAR

Marbury would lead the team in scoring and assists, averaging 20.4 points and 8.1 assists per game, becoming the first Suns player to average 20 or more points per game since Kevin Johnson during the 1996–97 season. Shawn Marion increased his scoring as well, averaging 19.1 points per game along with 9.9 rebounds per game. Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk both continued to provide the team with scoring off the bench, before both being traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for top draft pick Joe Johnson midway through the season.[14][15][16] Penny Hardaway returned to appear in 80 games, after being sidelined all but four games the season before, and averaged 12.0 points and 4.1 assists per game.[17] Johnson, who earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors, rounded out a team rich in talent at the guard position. Tom Gugliotta was again plagued by knee injury, only playing just 44 games due to left quadriceps tendonitis.[18][19]

The season was a disappointment for an organization looking to build a new core of talent. For the first time since the 1996–97 season, the All-Star Game did not feature a Suns player. To complete the season on a low note, a franchise-record of 13 straight playoff appearances was snapped when the Suns failed to qualify for postseason play.[20] Following the season, Majerle retired after playing in his second stint with the Suns.[21]

Offseason

NBA draft
Main article: 2001 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Club Team
2 51 Alton Ford Forward  United States Houston

Roster
2001–02 Phoenix Suns roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 0 Brown, Randy Injured (IN) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1968–05–22 New Mexico State
G 11 Crispin, Joe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1979–07–18 Penn State
F 4 Ford, Alton 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1981–05–29 Houston
F 24 Gugliotta, Tom Injured 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–12–19 NC State
G 1 Hardaway, Penny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–07–18 Memphis
G 2 Johnson, Joe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1981–06–29 Arkansas
G 9 Majerle, Dan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1965–09–09 Central Michigan
G 3 Marbury, Stephon 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1977–02–20 Georgia Tech
F 31 Marion, Shawn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–05–07 UNLV
F 45 Outlaw, Bo 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1971–04–13 Houston
G 10 Palacio, Milt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1978–02–07 Colorado State
C 25 Tsakalidis, Jake 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1979–06–10 Georgia (country)
C 43 Voskuhl, Jake 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1977–11–01 Connecticut
F 22 Wallace, John 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1974–02–09 Syracuse
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 20, 2002

Roster Notes
  • Point guard Randy Brown was acquired from the Boston Celtics at midseason, but did not play for the Suns this season due to a right adductor strain.

Regular season

Standings
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Sacramento Kings 6121.744–36–525–1615–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers 5824.707334–724–1716–8
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4933.5981230–1119–2214–10
x-Seattle SuperSonics 4537.5491626–1519–2213–11
Los Angeles Clippers 3943.4762225–1614–279–15
Phoenix Suns 3646.4392523–1813–2812–12
Golden State Warriors 2161.2564014–277–345–19
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Sacramento Kings6121.744–
2 y-San Antonio Spurs5824.7073
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers5824.7073
4 x-Dallas Mavericks5725.6954
5 x-Minnesota Timberwolves5032.61011
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4933.59812
7 x-Seattle SuperSonics4537.54916
8 x-Utah Jazz4438.53717
9 Los Angeles Clippers3943.47622
10 Phoenix Suns3646.43925
11 Houston Rockets2854.34133
12 Denver Nuggets2755.32934
13 Memphis Grizzlies2359.28038
14 Golden State Warriors2161.25640

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—

Awards and honors

Week/Month
  • Shawn Marion was named Western Conference Player of the Month for March.
  • Stephon Marbury was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played November 26 through December 2.
  • Shawn Marion was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played March 25 through March 31.

Season

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Charlie Bell*508.4.273.0001.000#0.80.4.0.01.6
Jud Buechler*609.0.333.333.1.30.5.2.01.0
Joe Crispin*1508.6.411.429^1.000#0.71.6.3.04.6
Vinny Del Negro203.0.250..0.01.0.0.01.0
Tony Delk*41121.4.399.320.8363.02.0.8.110.6
Alton Ford5308.5.517†..7372.00.1.1.13.1
Tom Gugliotta444025.7.422.333.7575.01.8.9.76.5
Penny Hardaway805630.8.418.277.8104.44.11.5.412.0
Joe Johnson*292731.5.420.333.7784.13.6.9.49.6
Dan Majerle65018.2.343.336^.5902.71.4.7.24.6
Stephon Marbury828038.9.442.286.7813.28.1.9.220.4
Shawn Marion818138.4.469†.393^.845#9.92.01.81.119.1
Bo Outlaw*733624.2.550†.500^.4174.61.7.81.14.7
Milt Palacio*2819.7.380.143.7830.81.0.3.02.8
Rodney Rogers*50725.1.466.350^.8284.81.41.0.312.6
Daniel Santiago308.0.500†..2.30.7.0.32.7
Jake Tsakalidis674723.6.475†.000.6985.60.3.31.07.3
Jake Voskuhl593415.3.554†..7524.30.3.2.45.0
John Wallace46010.7.435.385^.870#1.80.6.2.25.0

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 55 three-pointers made.
# – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Transactions

Trades
July 18, 2001 To Detroit Pistons---- To Phoenix Suns----
July 18, 2001 To New Jersey Nets---- To Phoenix Suns----
October 29, 2001 To Chicago Bulls---- To Phoenix Suns----
November 15, 2001 To Orlando Magic---- To Phoenix Suns----
To Los Angeles Clippers----
February 20, 2002 To Boston Celtics---- To Phoenix Suns----

Additions
Date Player Contract Former Team
July 6, 2001 Charlie Bell Undisclosed
July 19, 2001 Dan Majerle Signed to 1-year contract for $1 million Miami Heat
August 29, 2001 Daniel Santiago Re-signed to 1-year contract for $465,850 Phoenix Suns
September 27, 2001 Chris Andersen Undisclosed Fayetteville Patriots (NBA DL)
September 27, 2001 Dan McClintock Undisclosed Denver Nuggets
September 27, 2001 Derek Hood Undisclosed Snaidero Udine (Italy)
September 27, 2001 Kendrick Johnson Undisclosed
January 7, 2002 Joe Crispin Signed for rest of season Southern California Surf (ABA)

Subtractions
Date Player Reason Left New Team
September 28, 2001 Johnny Newman Waived Dallas Mavericks
October 7, 2001 Chris Andersen Waived Denver Nuggets
October 9, 2001 Dan McClintock Waived Skipper Bologna
October 11, 2001 Kendrick Johnson Waived
October 20, 2001 Derek Hood Waived Mobile Revelers (NBA DL)
December 11, 2001 Charlie Bell Waived Phoenix Eclipse (ABA)
January 7, 2002 Daniel Santiago Waived Lottomatica Roma (Italy)

Player Transactions Citation:[22]

References
  1. "2001-02 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats".
  2. Robbins, Liz (June 29, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Nets' Shake-Up Ships Marbury for Suns' Kidd". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  3. Heisler, Mark (June 29, 2001). "Kidd, Marbury Latest Big Deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  4. "Suns Trade Star Guard Kidd, Get Nets' Marbury in Return". The Washington Post. June 29, 2001. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  5. "Suns Agree to Trade Kidd to Nets for Marbury". Tampa Bay Times. June 29, 2001. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  6. "Dan Majerle Signs with Suns". United Press International. July 19, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  7. Tutumello, Mike (October 4, 2001). "Majerle Goes Home to the Arizona Heat". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  8. Wise, Mike (October 30, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Jordan Against the New Generation, Lakers Against the World". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  9. Brewer, Jerry (November 17, 2001). "Magic Send Outlaw to Suns". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  10. "Suns Get Outlaw in 3-Team Trade". United Press International. November 16, 2001. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  11. "PRO BASKETBALL; Skiles Resigns as Suns' Coach". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 18, 2002. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  12. "Suns' Skiles Resigns, Johnson Takes Over". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 18, 2002. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  13. "2001–02 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  14. "Report: Rogers, Delk to Celtics". United Press International. February 20, 2002. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  15. "Boston Acquires Delk, Rogers from Phoenix". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 21, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  16. "Celts, Suns Make Trade; Jackson Set to Be Dealt". Deseret News. February 21, 2002. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  17. "2001–02 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  18. "Suns Place Gugliotta on Injured List". United Press International. January 8, 2002. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  19. "Suns Activate Oft-Injured Gugliotta". Midland Daily News. February 12, 2002. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  20. "Phoenix Suns". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  21. "Buford Clarifies Drug Suspension". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 15, 2002. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  22. "2001–02 Phoenix Suns Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

See also
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