The 2001–02 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 34th season for the Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association.2001-02 Milwaukee Bucks
Season summary
Off-season During the off-season, the Bucks signed free agent Anthony Mason to shore up their front line. For the season, the Bucks slightly updated their home and road uniforms by adding side panels to their jerseys, while making the numbers on the road jerseys silver; these uniforms would remain in use until 2006.
Regular season With the addition of Mason, the Bucks got off to a solid start by winning nine of their first ten games of the regular season, but then lost five straight afterwards. The team posted an eight-game winning streak in January, which led them to a division-leading record of 26–13 as of January 21, 2002, and held a 28–18 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team signed free agent Greg Anthony, who was previously released by the Chicago Bulls. However, with a 35–25 record as of March 6, the Bucks struggled losing 16 of their final 22 games of the season, finished in fifth place in the Central Division with a disappointing 41–41 record, and failed to qualify for the NBA playoffs. On the final day of the regular season on April 17, the Bucks suffered an embarrassing road loss to the Detroit Pistons, 123–89 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, and finished just one game behind the 8th–seeded Indiana Pacers. This was one of the biggest late-season collapses for a team that was contending for a Division title in March.
Ray Allen averaged 21.8 points, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and led the league with 229 three-point field goals, while Glenn Robinson averaged 20.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and Sam Cassell provided the team with 19.7 points and 6.7 assists per game. In addition, Mason contributed 9.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while off the bench, sixth man Tim Thomas averaged 11.7 points per game, and second-year guard Michael Redd showed improvement averaging 11.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Anthony contributed 7.2 points, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 24 games, Darvin Ham averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, second-year center Joel Pryzbilla provided with 2.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and Ervin Johnson contributed 2.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Allen was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. In addition, Allen participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the third consecutive year. Redd finished tied in ninth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Bucks finished twelfth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 745,305 at the Bradley Center during the regular season.
Aftermath Following the season, Robinson was traded to the Atlanta Hawks after eight seasons with the Bucks, while Ham signed as a free agent with the Hawks, and Anthony retired.
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 51 Andre Hutson F Michigan State
Roster
Regular season
Season standings
c – clinched home field advantage throughout conference playoffs y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
|-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 1 || October 30, 2001 || @ Utah | W 119—112
| Delta Center18,845 | 1–0
|-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 2 || November 1, 2001 || @ Denver | W 102—101
| Pepsi Center18,634 | 2–0 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 3 || November 3, 2001 || Boston | W 105–99
| Bradley Center18,171 | 3–0 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 4 || November 8, 2001 || Miami | W 86–82
| Bradley Center18,364 | 4–0 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 5 || November 10, 2001 || Minnesota | L 82–98
| Bradley Center18,717 | 4–1 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 6 || November 14, 2001 || @ Washington | W 107–98
| MCI Center20,674 | 5–1 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 7 || November 17, 2001 || Utah | W 104–93
| Bradley Center18,717 | 6–1 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 8 || November 21, 2001 || Chicago | W 95–79
| Bradley Center18,717 | 7–1 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 9 || November 22, 2001 || @ Toronto | W 107–98
| Air Canada Centre19,800 | 8–1 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 10 || November 24, 2001 || Atlanta | W 95–88
| Bradley Center18,717 | 9–1 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 11 || November 27, 2001 || @ L. A. Lakers | L 85–104
| STAPLES Center18,997 | 9–2 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 12 || November 28, 2001 || @ Phoenix | L 84–104
| America West Arena15,590 | 9–3 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 13 || November 30, 2001 || @ Portland | L 95–101
| Rose Garden18,723 | 9–4
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 14 || December 2, 2001 || @ Seattle | L 83–97
| Key Arena13,595 | 9–5 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 15 || December 4, 2001 || New York | L 71–85
| Bradley Center17,416 | 9–6 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 16 || December 6, 2001 || Toronto | W 95–89
| Bradley Center18,717 | 10–6 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 17 || December 8, 2001 || New Jersey | W 95–79
| Bradley Center18,171 | 11–6 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 18 || December 11, 2001 || @ Miami | L 97–99
| AmericanAirlines Arena15,321 | 11–7 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 19 || December 14, 2001 || @ Philadelphia | W 96–80
| First Union Center20,641 | 12–7 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 20 || December 15, 2001 || Indiana | W 115–95
| Bradley Center18,717 | 13–7 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 21 || December 18, 2001 || @ Memphis | W 114–105
| Pyramid Arena12,476 | 14–7 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 22 || December 20, 2001 || @ Dallas | L 101—113
| American Airlines Center19,780 | 14–8 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 23 || December 22, 2001 || @ Houston | L 110—115
| Compaq Center11,628 | 14–9 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 24 || December 23, 2001 || @ San Antonio | W 101—91
| Alamodome24,708 | 15–9 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 25 || December 26, 2001 || Atlanta | W 107—97
| Bradley Center18,717 | 16–9 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 26 || December 28, 2001 || @ Charlotte | W 107—97
| Charlotte Coliseum10,888 | 17–9 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 27 || December 29, 2001 || San Antonio | W 107—97
| Bradley Center18,717 | 18–9 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 28 || December 31, 2001 || @ Chicago | L 83—90
| United Center17,167 | 18–10
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 29 || January 2, 2002 || @ Minnesota | L 77—95
| Target Center19,497 | 18–11 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 30 || January 5, 2002 || @ L. A. Clippers | L 83—86
| STAPLES Center19,232 | 18–12 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 31 || January 6, 2002 || @ Sacramento | L 101—115
| ARCO Arena (II)17,317 | 18–13 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 32 || January 8, 2002 || @ Golden State | W 113—97
| The Arena in Oakland14,011 | 19–13 |-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 33 || January 11, 2002 || Washington | W 105—86
| Bradley Center18,717 | 20–13 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 40 || January 22, 2002 || Phoenix | L 81–92
| Bradley Center17,036 | 26–14 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 41 || January 24, 2002 || Seattle | L 88–99
| Bradley Center16,659 | 26–15
|-style="background:#bbffbb;" | 46 || February 7, 2002 || Memphis | W 107–103
| Bradley Center17,726 | 28–18
|-style="background:#fcc;" | 65 || March 18, 2002 || @ Charlotte | L 110—113
| Charlotte Coliseum7,883 | 36–29 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 69 || March 26, 2002 || Dallas | L 106–112 OT
| Bradley Center18,465 | 37–32
Player statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 69 67 36.6 46.2 43.4 87.3 4.5 3.9 1.3 0.3 21.8 Glenn Robinson 66 63 35.5 46.7 32.6 83.7 6.2 2.5 1.5 0.6 20.7 Sam Cassell 74 73 35.2 46.3 34.8 86.0 4.2 6.7 1.2 0.2 19.7 Tim Thomas 74 22 26.9 42.0 32.6 79.3 4.1 1.4 0.9 0.4 11.7 Michael Redd 67 8 21.1 48.3 44.4 79.1 3.3 1.4 0.6 0.1 11.4 Anthony Mason 82 82 38.3 50.5 100.0 69.7 7.9 4.2 0.7 0.3 9.6 Greg Anthony 24 3 23.0 37.2 26.0 61.9 1.8 3.3 1.2 0.0 7.2 Darvin Ham 70 2 17.3 56.9 14.3 50.4 2.9 1.0 0.4 0.5 4.3 Jason Caffey 23 0 12.3 50.0 0.0 62.8 2.2 0.5 0.2 0.2 4.3 Rafer Alston 50 7 12.0 34.6 38.0 62.1 1.4 2.9 0.6 0.0 3.5 71 62 15.9 53.5 0.0 42.2 4.0 0.3 0.3 1.7 2.7 Ervin Johnson 81 9 20.5 46.1 0.0 45.5 5.8 0.3 0.5 1.0 2.6 Mark Pope 45 12 9.5 39.6 16.0 52.4 1.6 0.4 0.2 0.2 1.9 Greg Foster 6 0 4.0 22.2 0.0 75.0 1.3 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.2
Player statistics citation:
Transactions Trades June 28, 2001 To Milwaukee BucksGreg Foster To Los Angeles LakersLindsey Hunter October 22, 2001 To Milwaukee Bucks Kevin Willis Aleksandar Radojevic To Denver Nuggets Scott Williams October 22, 2001 To Milwaukee Bucks---- 2002 2nd round pick (Dan Gadzuric) To Houston Rockets---- Kevin Willis
Free agents Player Signed Former teamAnthony MasonOctober 25, 2001Miami HeatGreg AnthonyMarch 5, 2002Chicago Bulls
Player Transactions Citation:
References
See also 2001–02 NBA season