2001–02 Indiana Pacers season

2001–02 Indiana Pacers season
Head coachIsiah Thomas
General managerDonnie Walsh
ArenaConseco Fieldhouse
Results
Record42–40 (.512)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Central)
Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst Round
(lost to Nets 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWTTV
Fox Sports Net Midwest
RadioWIBC

The 2001–02 Indiana Pacers season was the 26th season for the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association, and their 35th season as a franchise.[1] During the off-season, the Pacers acquired rookie point guard, and first-round draft pick Jamaal Tinsley out of Iowa State University from the Atlanta Hawks, who had acquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies,[2][3][4] and signed free agent Carlos 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 in winning percentage 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 traded Jalen Rose and Travis Best to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer and Kevin 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 the NBA playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference,[10][11] finishing in fourth place in the Central 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 the NBA Most Improved Player of the Year,[13][14][15] and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, Reggie Miller averaged 16.5 points per game and led the Pacers with 180 three-point field goals, while Al 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] and Tinsley provided the team with 9.4 points, 8.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Meanwhile, Jonathan Bender contributed 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, Austin Croshere provided with 6.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, and Jeff Foster averaged 5.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, O'Neal was selected for the 2002 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 the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team,[23][24] and also finished tied in third place in Rookie of the Year voting.[25][26]

However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Pacers would lose in five games to the top-seeded New Jersey Nets, including a double overtime road loss in Game 5, which the Nets won 120–109.[27][28][29] The Nets would reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, but would lose to the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games in the 2002 NBA Finals.[30][31][32]

Following the season, Rogers was released to free agency.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 2001 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
2 40 Jamison Brewer PG  United States Auburn

Roster

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
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: 2002-02-19

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 – 26–15 24–17 20–8
x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 6 21–20 23–18 17–11
x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 8 24–17 18–23 17–11
x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 8 25–16 17–24 13–15
e-Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 9 25–16 16–25 17–11
e-Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 17 23–18 10–31 11–17
e-Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 21 20–21 9–32 12–16
e-Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 29 14–27 7–34 5–23
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 –
2 y-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 2
3 x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3
4 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 8
5 x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8
6 x-Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9
7 x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 10
8 x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 10
9 e-Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 11
10 e-Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15
11 e-Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16
12 e-Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 19
13 e-New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22
14 e-Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 23
15 e-Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 31

Game log

Playoffs

2002 playoff game log
First round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 20 @ New Jersey W 89–83 Jermaine O'Neal (30) Brad Miller (12) Jamaal Tinsley (7) Continental Airlines Arena
18,555 		1–0
2 April 22 @ New Jersey L 79–95 Reggie Miller (26) Artest, O'Neal (6) Jamaal Tinsley (5) Continental Airlines Arena
20,049 		1–1
3 April 26 New Jersey L 84–85 Reggie Miller (30) Jeff Foster (12) Jamaal Tinsley (9) Conseco Fieldhouse
18,345 		1–2
4 April 30 New Jersey W 97–74 Artest, Croshere (18) Artest, B. Miller (8) Kevin Ollie (9) Conseco Fieldhouse
18,345 		2–2
5 May 2 @ New Jersey L 109–120 (2OT) Reggie Miller (31) Brad Miller (17) Kevin Ollie (8) Continental Airlines Arena
20,049 		2–3
2002 schedule

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Jeff Foster C 82 48 1,786 556 70 71 38 467 21.8 6.8 .9 .9 .5 5.7
Jamaal Tinsley PG 80 78 2,442 298 647 138 40 751 30.5 3.7 8.1 1.7 .5 9.4
Reggie Miller SG 79 79 2,889 219 253 88 10 1,304 36.6 2.8 3.2 1.1 .1 16.5
Jonathan Bender SF 78 17 1,647 244 62 19 49 581 21.1 3.1 .8 .2 .6 7.4
Austin Croshere PF 76 1 1,286 294 77 26 29 516 16.9 3.9 1.0 .3 .4 6.8
Jermaine O'Neal PF 72 72 2,707 757 118 45 166 1,371 37.6 10.5 1.6 .6 2.3 19.0
Jalen Rose† SF 53 53 1,937 249 197 45 29 982 36.5 4.7 3.7 .8 .5 18.5
Travis Best† PG 44 3 954 70 175 57 6 302 21.7 1.6 4.0 1.3 .1 6.9
Al Harrington PF 44 1 1,313 276 54 41 21 576 29.8 6.3 1.2 .9 .5 13.1
Kevin Ollie† PG 29 0 577 56 98 26 1 158 19.9 1.9 3.4 .9 .0 5.4
Brad Miller† C 28 28 872 220 51 24 12 424 31.1 7.9 1.8 .9 .4 15.1
Ron Artest† SF 28 24 819 140 50 66 16 306 29.3 5.0 1.8 2.4 .6 10.9
Primož Brezec C 22 4 160 28 6 0 7 43 7.3 1.3 .3 .0 .3 2.0
Carlos Rogers C 22 1 168 38 3 5 6 59 7.6 1.7 .1 .2 .3 2.7
Bruno Šundov C 22 0 88 21 3 3 3 32 4.0 1.0 .1 .1 .1 1.5
Ron Mercer† SG 13 1 213 23 10 2 3 62 16.4 1.8 .8 .2 .2 4.8
Jamison Brewer SG 13 0 43 8 9 2 0 4 3.3 .6 .7 .2 .0 .3
Norman Richardson† SG 3 0 4 1 1 0 0 0 1.3 .3 .3 .0 .0 .0
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Pacers only.

Playoffs

Player POS GP GS MP REB AST STL BLK PTS MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Reggie Miller SG 5 5 198 16 14 8 1 118 39.6 3.2 2.8 1.6 .2 23.6
Jermaine O'Neal PF 5 5 192 38 5 4 8 86 38.4 7.6 1.0 .8 1.6 17.2
Brad Miller C 5 5 180 49 7 4 2 56 36.0 9.8 1.4 .8 .4 11.2
Ron Artest SF 5 5 167 30 16 13 3 59 33.4 6.0 3.2 2.6 .6 11.8
Jamaal Tinsley PG 5 5 88 10 25 2 0 18 17.6 2.0 5.0 .4 .0 3.6
Kevin Ollie PG 5 0 118 12 23 3 0 29 23.6 2.4 4.6 .6 .0 5.8
Ron Mercer SG 5 0 117 10 4 1 1 39 23.4 2.0 .8 .2 .2 7.8
Jeff Foster C 5 0 78 24 7 3 1 20 15.6 4.8 1.4 .6 .2 4.0
Jonathan Bender SF 5 0 45 4 2 2 3 6 9.0 .8 .4 .4 .6 1.2
Austin Croshere PF 4 0 59 14 2 1 1 24 14.8 3.5 .5 .3 .3 6.0
Jamison Brewer SG 2 0 6 4 1 0 0 1 3.0 2.0 .5 .0 .0 .5
Bruno Šundov C 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2.0 .0 .0 .0 .0 2.0

Awards and records

Transactions

Trades

February 19, 2002 To Indiana Pacers
Kevin Ollie 		To Chicago Bulls
Travis Best
February 19, 2002 To Indiana Pacers
Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Ron Mercer 		To Chicago Bulls
Jalen Rose, Norm Richardson, and a second round draft pick

Player Transactions Citation:[33]

References

  1. ^ 2001–02 Indiana Pacers
  2. ^ "Tinsley Drafted by Hawks, Traded to Pacers". United Press International. June 27, 2001. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  3. ^ "Pacers Sign Jamaal Tinsley". United Press International. July 19, 2001. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  4. ^ Weinstein, Brad (December 2, 2001). "Tinsley Passing His Other Teams by; Pacers Rookie Point Guard Has Impressed". SFGate. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  5. ^ Wise, Mike (October 30, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL; Jordan Against the New Generation, Lakers Against the World". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "NBA Games Played on February 7, 2002". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "Bulls Acquire Rose for Mercer, Three Others". ESPN. Associated Press. February 19, 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  8. ^ "Pacers Send Rose to Bulls in Seven-Player Trade". The Washington Post. February 20, 2002. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  9. ^ Jones, Grahame L. (February 21, 2002). "Bulls' Trade Ensures Reign of Terrible". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  10. ^ "N.B.A.: ROUNDUP; Bucks Out of Playoffs After Loss to Pistons". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 18, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "Bucks Out; Raptors, Pacers In". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 18, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  12. ^ "2001–02 Indiana Pacers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "Pacers' O'Neal Most Improved". Deseret News. Associated Press. April 26, 2002. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "Pacer NBA's Most Improved". The Age. April 27, 2002. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  15. ^ "NBA & ABA Most Improved Player Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  16. ^ "Pacers' Harrington Out for Season". United Press International. January 24, 2002. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  17. ^ "Harrington Has Knee Surgery". United Press International. January 25, 2002. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  18. ^ "Pacers' Harrington Has ACL Surgery". CBC. January 25, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "2001–02 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  20. ^ "NBA All-Star Game Rosters". United Press International. February 8, 2002. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  21. ^ "2002 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  22. ^ "2002 NBA All-Star Game: West 135, East 120". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  23. ^ "Rookie Challenge Today". The Daily Gazette. February 9, 2002. p. D3. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  24. ^ "2002 NBA Rising Stars: Rookies 103, Sophomores 97". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
  25. ^ "Gasol Gets 117 Out of a Possible 126 Votes". ESPN. Associated Press. April 24, 2002. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  26. ^ "2001–02 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  27. ^ Robbins, Liz (May 2, 2002). "Nets Win Game 5 in Double Overtime to Advance". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  28. ^ Alexander Nichols, Rachel (May 3, 2002). "Kidd Outduels Miller". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  29. ^ "2002 NBA Eastern Conference First Round: Pacers vs. Nets". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  30. ^ "Lakers Sweep Nets for Another Title". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 13, 2002. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  31. ^ Brown, Tim (June 13, 2002). "O'Neal Is a Three-Peat MVP as Lakers Finally Cut Down the Nets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "2002 NBA Finals: Nets vs. Lakers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  33. ^ "2001–02 Indiana Pacers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
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