The 2001–02 Orlando Magic season was the 13th season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association.

Season summary

Off-season During the off-season, the Magic signed free agent All-Star center Patrick Ewing to their roster, and re-signed former Magic forward Horace Grant to further strengthen the team's depth.

Regular season Early into the regular season in November, the Magic traded Bo Outlaw to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jud Buechler in a three-team trade. With the addition of Grant and Ewing, the Magic played around .500 in winning percentage with a 25–24 record at the All-Star break. However, Grant Hill only played just 14 games this season, averaging 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, as he had to get more surgery on his bad ankle. Despite Hill's injury, the Magic posted a six-game winning streak in March, and finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 44–38 record, which earned them the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tracy McGrady had another stellar season, averaging 25.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, along with 103 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team. In addition, second-year star Mike Miller averaged 15.2 points per game and contributed 116 three-point field goals, while Darrell Armstrong provided the team with 12.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game, along with 139 three-point field goals, Troy Hudson contributed 11.7 points and 3.1 assists per game, and Pat Garrity provided with 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and led the Magic with 169 three-point field goals. Meanwhile, Grant averaged 8.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, Monty Williams contributed 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and Ewing provided with 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McGrady was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Meanwhile, Miller participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout, and was also selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team. McGrady finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting with 7 first-place votes; Hudson finished tied in fifth place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and also finished tied in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting.

The Magic finished 22nd in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 621,121 at the TD Waterhouse Centre during the regular season.

NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Magic faced off against the 4th–seeded Charlotte Hornets, who were led by the trio of Jamal Mashburn, David Wesley, and All-Star guard Baron Davis. Despite both teams finishing with the same regular-season record, the Hornets had home-court advantage in the series. The Magic lost Game 1 to the Hornets on the road, 80–79 at the Charlotte Coliseum, but managed to win Game 2 on the road in overtime, 111–103 to even the series. However, the Magic lost the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 loss to the Hornets at the TD Waterhouse Centre, 102–85, thus losing the series in four games.

Aftermath Following the season, Ewing retired after seventeen seasons in the NBA, and would take a job as an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards, while Hudson signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Williams signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Buechler and Dee Brown both retired.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 15 Steven Hunter C DePaul 1 22 Jeryl Sasser SG SMU 2 31 Omar Cook PG St. John's

Roster

Roster Notes Small forward Grant Hill played 14 games (his last game being on November 26, 2001), but missed the rest of the season and the playoffs after undergoing season-ending surgery on December 19, 2001, to remove bone spurs from his left ankle, and it was the second surgery he had in a year and the third operation on his left ankle.

Regular season

Season standings

z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 1 | April 20 | @ Charlotte | L 79–80 | Tracy McGrady (20) | Horace Grant (10) | Tracy McGrady (6) | Charlotte Coliseum9,505 | 0–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 23 | @ Charlotte | W 111–103 (OT) | Tracy McGrady (31) | Tracy McGrady (11) | Tracy McGrady (7) | Charlotte Coliseum10,323 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 27 | Charlotte | L 100–110 (OT) | Tracy McGrady (37) | Garrity, Grant (10) | Darrell Armstrong (8) | TD Waterhouse Centre16,754 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 4 | April 30 | Charlotte | L 85–102 | Tracy McGrady (35) | Patrick Ewing (10) | Tracy McGrady (6) | TD Waterhouse Centre16,254 | 1–3

Player statistics

Regular season PlayerPG82 79 2,730 319 453 157 10 1,015 33.3 3.9 5.5 1.9 .1 12.4PG 81 4 1,854 145 255 57 6 950 22.9 1.8 3.1 .7 .1 11.7PF 80 43 2,406 338 99 61 28 884 30.1 4.2 1.2 .8 .4 11.1SG 76 76 2,912 597 400 119 73 1,948 38.3 7.9 5.3 1.6 1.0 25.6C 76 76 2,210 481 104 57 49 608 29.1 6.3 1.4 .8 .6 8.0SF 68 19 1,284 235 96 49 17 484 18.9 3.5 1.4 .7 .3 7.1PF 68 5 714 176 27 20 44 224 10.5 2.6 .4 .3 .6 3.3C 65 4 901 263 35 22 45 390 13.9 4.0 .5 .3 .7 6.0SF 63 53 2,123 273 198 47 23 956 33.7 4.3 3.1 .7 .4 15.2C 61 14 633 163 22 23 24 162 10.4 2.7 .4 .4 .4 2.7†SF 60 2 630 108 29 20 8 105 10.5 1.8 .5 .3 .1 1.8C 53 21 516 97 5 5 43 189 9.7 1.8 .1 .1 .8 3.6SF 14 14 512 125 64 8 4 235 36.6 8.9 4.6 .6 .3 16.8†PF 10 0 160 29 5 9 9 34 16.0 2.9 .5 .9 .9 3.4SG 9 0 144 17 8 5 0 39 16.0 1.9 .9 .6 .0 4.3PG 7 0 65 9 2 3 1 7 9.3 1.3 .3 .4 .1 1.0SG 7 0 36 7 2 3 0 10 5.1 1.0 .3 .4 .0 1.4

Playoffs PlayerSG4 4 178 25 22 2 7 123 44.5 6.3 5.5 .5 1.8 30.8PG4 4 158 11 13 5 0 61 39.5 2.8 3.3 1.3 .0 15.3PF4 4 147 30 9 2 1 34 36.8 7.5 2.3 .5 .3 8.5C4 4 127 31 9 3 1 18 31.8 7.8 2.3 .8 .3 4.5SF4 3 93 22 9 3 0 34 23.3 5.5 2.3 .8 .0 8.5SF4 1 72 5 5 4 0 19 18.0 1.3 1.3 1.0 .0 4.8PG4 0 106 4 6 0 0 51 26.5 1.0 1.5 .0 .0 12.8C4 0 67 22 4 1 4 26 16.8 5.5 1.0 .3 1.0 6.5PF4 0 38 6 0 1 2 9 9.5 1.5 .0 .3 .5 2.3SG 3 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 1.7 .3 .0 .0 .0 .0SF 2 0 10 1 1 1 0 0 5.0 .5 .5 .5 .0 .0C 2 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 4.5 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Awards and honors Tracy McGrady – All-NBA 1st Team, All-Star

Transactions

Players Added Via draft Steven Hunter Jeryl Sasser Omar Cook Via free agency Patrick Ewing Horace Grant Todd Fuller Jaren Jackson Via trade Brendan Haywood Laron Profit Jud BuechlerPlayers Lost Via trade Omar Cook Michael Doleac Brendan Haywood Bo Outlaw Waived Todd Fuller Released Dee Brown

Trades June 27, 2001 To Orlando MagicFuture first round draft pick To Denver NuggetsOmar Cook June 27, 2001 To Orlando MagicBrendan Haywood To Cleveland CavaliersMichael Doleac August 1, 2001 To Orlando MagicLaron Profit 2005 first round draft pick (Julius Hodge) To Washington WizardsBrendan Haywood November 16, 2001 To Orlando MagicJud Buechler To Phoenix SunsBo Outlaw 2002 first round draft pick (Amar'e Stoudemire)

Free agents AdditionsPlayerDate signedFormer teamPatrick EwingJuly 18Seattle SuperSonicsHorace GrantJuly 19Los Angeles LakersTodd FullerOctober 19Miami HeatJaren JacksonApril 2San Antonio Spurs

Player Transactions Citation:

References