2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers season

The 2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 52nd season for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, and their 38th season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Season summary

Off-season For the season, the 76ers slightly updated their home and road uniforms, which would remain in use until 2007.

Regular season The 76ers won their first ten games of the regular season, and later on held a 36–14 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the team traded Theo Ratliff, Toni Kukoč, and Nazr Mohammed to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo. However, prior to the trade, Ratliff was sidelined due to a season-ending wrist injury after 50 games; before the trade, Ratliff averaged 12.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game. The 76ers finished in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 56–26 record, which earned them the first seed in the Eastern Conference; it was the team's first 50-win season since 1989–90, and also their best regular season record since 1984–85. Head coach Larry Brown was named the NBA Coach of the Year, after leading the 76ers to a seven-game improvement over the previous season. The 76ers had the fifth best team defensive rating in the NBA.

All-Star guard Allen Iverson averaged 31.1 points, 4.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game, leading the league in both scoring and steals; he was named to the All-NBA First Team, and was named the NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year for his accomplishments, beating Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal by a wide margin. In addition, Mutombo averaged 11.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in 26 games after the trade, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time, and was also named to the All-NBA Second Team and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Aaron McKie provided the team with 11.6 points, 5.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Meanwhile, Tyrone Hill provided with 9.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, Eric Snow contributed 9.8 points, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game, but only played just 50 games due to a stress fracture in his right ankle, and George Lynch averaged 8.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., and before the mid-season trade, Iverson and Ratliff were both selected for the 2001 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, while Brown was selected to coach the Eastern Conference, although Ratliff did not participate due to injury; it was his first and only All-Star selection. Iverson scored 25 points along with 5 assists and 4 steals, and was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference, 111–110.

However, this season was not without controversy. With Ratliff out for the remainder of the regular season due to his wrist injury, the 76ers only had two other centers on their roster, Matt Geiger, and second-year player Todd MacCulloch; the team then traded Ratliff along with Kukoč, and Mohammed to the Hawks in exchange for Mutombo. By trading Kukoč, who was not included in the original proposed deal, and who also won three NBA championships with Phil Jackson as his head coach during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls, the 76ers had only one other player on the roster who had NBA Finals experience, Snow, who played a total of 24 minutes in 10 games in the 1996 NBA playoffs as a reserve for the Seattle SuperSonics. At one point, the team's record was 42–14, but finished 14–12 the rest of the way, including a five-game losing streak in March.

In the final game of the regular season, against the Chicago Bulls at the First Union Center on April 18, 2001, Brown rested his starters instead of trying to go for a win, as the 76ers lost to the Bulls by a score of 92–86; had the 76ers won this game, they would have had the league's second-best record behind the San Antonio Spurs, and home court advantage over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Both teams had the same record, but the Lakers' record for non-conference opponents was better than Philadelphia's.

The 76ers finished fifth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 805,692 at the First Union Center during the regular season.

NBA playoffs In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2001 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, the 76ers faced off against the 8th–seeded Indiana Pacers, a team that featured Jalen Rose, All-Star guard Reggie Miller, and Jermaine O'Neal. The 76ers lost Game 1 to the Pacers at home, 79–78 at the First Union Center. However, the team managed to win the next three games, which included a Game 4 win over the Pacers on the road, 88–85 at the Conseco Fieldhouse to win the series in four games.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 5th–seeded Toronto Raptors, who were led by All-Star guard Vince Carter, All-Star center Antonio Davis, and Charles Oakley. With the series tied at 1–1, the 76ers lost Game 3 to the Raptors on the road, 102–78 at the Air Canada Centre, as the Raptors took a 2–1 series lead. The 76ers managed to win the next two games, including a Game 5 win over the Raptors at the First Union Center, 121–88, in which Iverson scored 52 points and made 8 out of 14 three-point field-goal attempts. However, the team lost Game 6 to the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, 101–89. With the series tied at 3–3, the 76ers won Game 7 over the Raptors at the First Union Center, 88–87 to win in a hard-fought seven-game series.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the 76ers then faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Central Division champion Milwaukee Bucks, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Ray Allen, All-Star forward Glenn Robinson, and Sam Cassell. The 76ers won Game 1 over the Bucks at the First Union Center, 93–85, but then lost the next two games as the Bucks took a 2–1 series lead; Iverson sat out Game 3 due to a left hip injury, in which he sustained during the second-round series against the Raptors, as the 76ers lost to the Bucks on the road, 80–74 at the Bradley Center. With the return of Iverson, the 76ers managed to win the next two games before losing Game 6 to the Bucks at the Bradley Center, 110–100, despite a 46-point performance from Iverson. With the series tied at 3–3, the 76ers won Game 7 over the Bucks at the First Union Center, 108–91 to win in another hard-fought seven-game series, and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since the 1982–83 season.

In the 2001 NBA Finals, the 76ers faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and defending NBA champion Lakers, who were led by All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher. The 76ers won Game 1 over the Lakers on the road in overtime, 107–101 at the Staples Center, in which Iverson scored 48 points along with 5 steals. However, the 76ers lost Game 2 to the Lakers on the road by a score of 98–89, before losing their next three home games at the First Union Center, including a Game 5 loss to the Lakers by a score of 108–96; the 76ers lost the series in five games, as the Lakers won their second consecutive NBA championship.

Aftermath Following the season, Hill was traded along with second-year forward Jumaine Jones back to his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Lynch was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. This would be the final season in which the 76ers won the Atlantic Division title, and clinched the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs until the 2020–21 COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season.

Offseason During the off-season, the 76ers were not involved in any trades. In the 2000 NBA draft, they drafted guard Speedy Claxton and swingman Mark Karcher. Claxton missed the entire season due to a knee injury, while Karcher would be waived on October 18. Karcher would not play any games in the NBA.

Their first transaction was made on August 17, when they signed Jermaine Jackson. Jackson almost made the team, but he was waived one day before the team's season opener.

On October 2, the 76ers signed Ademola Okulaja and Pepe Sánchez. Okulaja was on the team's roster, but did not play in any regular season games. He was waived on December 19. Sánchez played 19 games with the 76ers before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks with Toni Kukoč, Nazr Mohammed, and Theo Ratliff for Roshown McLeod and Dikembe Mutombo on February 22. Sánchez played 5 games with Atlanta before being waived on March 12. Three days later, Sánchez would once again sign with the 76res.

On October 28, the 76ers signed Vernon Maxwell, who previously played for the team during the 1995–96 season. Maxwell would play in 24 games with the 76ers before being waived on December 22.

NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege 1 20 Craig "Speedy" Claxton PG Hofstra 2 48 Mark Karcher SG/SF Temple

Roster

Roster Notes Rookie point guard Speedy Claxton was on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

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

Game log

Regular season

2000–01 Philadelphia 76ers season

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