Surf Wiki
Save to docs
sports

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

2001–02 Denver Nuggets season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season

  • Dan Issel (resigned)
  • Mike Evans
  • KTVD
  • Fox Sports Net Rocky Mountain

The 2001–02 Denver Nuggets season was the 26th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 35th season as a franchise. During the off-season, the Nuggets signed free agents Isaiah Rider and Avery Johnson; however, Rider would only play in just ten games before being waived in November. After finishing just one game below .500 in winning percentage the previous season, the Nuggets suffered another disastrous setback as Antonio McDyess suffered a preseason knee injury, which limited him to just ten games. The Nuggets got off to a 6–5 start to the regular season, but then lost nine of their next ten games.

The Nuggets were also involved in controversy this season, after a 99–96 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets at the Pepsi Center on December 11, 2001, when head coach Dan Issel yelled a racial slur towards a Mexican fan; Issel was suspended for four games and was forced to resign, being replaced by his assistant Mike Evans after a 9–17 start to the season. At mid-season, Nick Van Exel was traded along with Johnson, Raef LaFrentz and Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Juwan Howard, All-Star guard Tim Hardaway, and second-year forward Donnell Harvey. The Nuggets posted a 7-game losing streak in March, and finished in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a 27–55 record, missing the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.

Howard averaged 17.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in 28 games with the Nuggets after the trade, while Voshon Lenard averaged 11.5 points per game, and McDyess provided the team with 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. In addition, Hardaway contributed 9.6 points and 5.5 assists per game in 14 games, while George McCloud provided with 8.8 points per game, and Harvey averaged 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in 29 games. Meanwhile, Calbert Cheaney contributed 7.3 points per game, and Ryan Bowen averaged 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

The Nuggets finished 20th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 633,846 at the Pepsi Center during the regular season. Following the season, McDyess was traded to the New York Knicks after six seasons, and two separate stints with the Nuggets, while Lenard signed as a free agent with the Toronto Raptors, Cheaney signed with the Utah Jazz, McCloud was traded to the Washington Wizards, but was released to free agency, Hardaway was released, and Evans was fired as head coach.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 2001 NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club team
247Ousmane CisseFSt. Jude HS (AL)

Roster

  • Mike Evans
  • Louie Dampier
  • Clyde Drexler
  • Kim Hughes
  • John MacLeod (associate head coach)
  • Steve Hess
  • Jim Gillen

Roster notes

  • Shooting guard Isaiah Rider was waived on November 20, 2001.

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3FG%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
Nick Van Exel454438.6.408.337.7823.88.10.70.221.4
Juwan Howard282834.9.457.000.7707.92.70.60.617.9
Raef LaFrentz515132.7.466.434.6677.41.20.63.014.9
Voshon Lenard711923.5.410.371.7832.61.80.80.411.5
Antonio McDyess101023.6.573.8185.51.81.00.811.3
James Posey736330.7.376.283.7935.92.51.60.510.7
Tim Hardaway141423.2.373.373.6321.95.51.20.19.6
Avery Johnson511323.5.486.000.7471.35.10.70.29.4
Isaiah Rider10117.3.457.400.7653.31.20.30.29.3
George McCloud692626.5.358.270.8103.63.00.80.38.8
Donnell Harvey29423.4.492.6476.21.10.60.78.0
Calbert Cheaney684724.0.481.000.6873.51.60.50.37.3
Tariq Abdul-Wahad201220.9.379.500.7503.91.10.90.56.8
Zendon Hamilton541515.7.420.6524.70.30.40.36.0
Kenny Satterfield36415.6.367.259.7831.43.00.90.05.3
Mengke Bateer271015.1.402.333.7843.60.80.40.25.1
Ryan Bowen752122.5.479.083.7504.00.71.00.54.9
Scott Williams411618.0.396.000.7325.10.30.40.84.9
Carlos Arroyo20113.8.439.000.7501.42.50.30.14.1
Shawnelle Scott211012.0.493.4004.90.40.10.33.9
Chris Andersen24110.9.338.000.7863.20.30.31.23.0

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records

Transactions

References

References

  1. [https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DEN/2002.html 2001-02 Denver Nuggets]
  2. Wise, Mike. (October 30, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Jordan Against the New Generation, Lakers Against the World". The New York Times.
  3. (November 20, 2001). "Nuggets Waive Isiah Rider". United Press International.
  4. (October 10, 2001). "PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; Nuggets Sign Cook, Former St. John's Star". The New York Times.
  5. (October 12, 2001). "Nuggets' McDyess Has Knee Surgery". Associated Press.
  6. (December 13, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Issel Apologizes for Slur and Will Miss 4 Games". The New York Times.
  7. (December 13, 2001). "Nuggets Bench Issel for Outburst". Los Angeles Times.
  8. (December 27, 2001). "Coach Quits After Slur Controversy". CBS News.
  9. Broussard, Chris. (February 22, 2002). "BASKETBALL; Van Exel and LaFrentz Are Traded to the Mavericks". The New York Times.
  10. (February 22, 2002). "Mavericks Get Van Exel, LaFrentz". Los Angeles Times.
  11. (February 22, 2002). "Van Exel, Howard Are Part of Big Trade". The Washington Post.
  12. "2001–02 Denver Nuggets Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.
  13. "2001–02 Denver Nuggets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.
  14. "2001–02 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.
  15. Broussard, Chris. (June 27, 2002). "PRO BASKETBALL; Knicks Get McDyess for Camby and Jackson". The New York Times.
  16. (June 26, 2002). "Nuggets Trade McDyess, Get Draft-Day Makeover". ESPN.
  17. Mathur, Ashish. (June 12, 2020). "Raptors: Every Notable Toronto Free-Agent Signing, by Year". Clutch Points.
  18. Buckley, Tim. (October 28, 2002). "Utah Jazz Season Preview 2002-03". Deseret News.
  19. Heisler, Mark. (October 28, 2002). "West Capsules in Predicted Order of Finish". Los Angeles Times.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

denver-nuggets-seasons 2001-in-sports-in-colorado 2002-in-sports-in-colorado 2001–02-nba-season-by-team
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 2001–02 Denver Nuggets season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report