The 2001–02 Dallas Mavericks season was the 22nd season for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association.
Season summary
Off-season For the season, the Mavericks moved into their new arena known as the American Airlines Center. During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star point guard Tim Hardaway from the Miami Heat, and signed free agents Adrian Griffin, Johnny Newman, and Danny Manning.
For the season, the Mavericks redesigned their primary logo, replacing the colors blue and green with dark navy blue, light blue, gray and black to their color scheme of white. The team's primary logo featured a horse in front of a blue basketball above the team name "Mavericks". The team also redesigned their home and road uniforms, which featured side panels to their jerseys and shorts. The home jerseys would remain in use until 2014, while the road jerseys would last until 2010; the team's new primary logo is still present as of 2026.
Regular season With the addition of Hardaway and Griffin, the Mavericks continued to play solid basketball posting a 10-game winning streak between December and January. The team posted a seven-game winning streak in January, and later on held a 35–14 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, the Mavericks traded Hardaway, Juwan Howard, and second-year forward Donnell Harvey to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Nick Van Exel, Raef LaFrentz, Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson. The Mavericks finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 57–25 record, earning the fourth seed in the Western Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1987–88 season.
Dirk Nowitzki averaged 23.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, contributed 139 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Michael Finley averaged 20.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and Steve Nash provided the team with 17.9 points and 7.7 assists per game, led them with 156 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team. In addition, and in 27 games after the trade, Van Exel contributed 13.2 points and 4.2 assists per game, while LaFrentz provided with 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Meanwhile, Griffin averaged 7.2 points and 1.3 steals per game, second-year forward Eduardo Nájera provided with 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and Greg Buckner contributed 5.8 points per game.
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nowitzki and Nash were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team, while head coach Don Nelson was selected to coach the Western Conference; it was the first ever All-Star appearance for both Nowitzki and Nash. In addition, Nash also participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout for the second consecutive year. Nowitzki also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Nash finished in 14th place; Nash also finished in third place in Most Improved Player voting.
The Mavericks finished sixth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 802,783 at the American Airlines Center during the regular season.
NBA playoffs In the Western Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Mavericks faced off against the 5th–seeded Minnesota Timberwolves, who were led by All-Star forward Kevin Garnett, All-Star forward Wally Szczerbiak, and Chauncey Billups. The Mavericks won the first two games over the Timberwolves at home at the American Airlines Center, before winning Game 3 on the road, 115–102 at the Target Center to win the series in a three-game sweep.
In the Western Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and Pacific Division champion Sacramento Kings, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Chris Webber, All-Star forward Peja Stojaković, and Mike Bibby. The Mavericks lost Game 1 to the Kings on the road, 108–91 at the ARCO Arena II, but managed to win Game 2 on the road, 110–102 to even the series. However, the Mavericks lost their next two home games at the American Airlines Center, before losing Game 5 to the Kings at the ARCO Arena II, 114–101, thus losing the series in five games.
Aftermath Following the season, Buckner signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers, while Newman retired, and Manning was released to free agency, and signed with the Detroit Pistons midway through the following season.
Offseason
Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 2 43 Kyle Hill PG/SG Eastern Illinois 2 53 Kenny Satterfield PG Cincinnati
Roster
Roster notes Center Shawn Bradley holds both American and German citizenship.
Regular season
Season standings
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game log
|-style="background:#cfc;" | 1 | October 30 | Detroit | | Michael Finley (34) | Juwan Howard (10) | Steve Nash (11) | American Airlines Center19,200 | 1–0
|-style="background:#cfc;" | 2 | November 1 | @ Philadelphia | | Dirk Nowitzki (30) | Dirk Nowitzki (13) | Tim Hardaway (7) | First Union Center20,230 | 2–0 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 3 | November 2 | @ Toronto | | Finley, Hardaway (17) | Juwan Howard (11) | Nash, Hardaway (5) | Air Canada Centre19,800 | 2–1 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 4 | November 4 | @ Memphis | | Juwan Howard (36) | Danny Manning (11) | Finley, Hardaway (5) | Pyramid Arena13,177 | 3–1 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 5 | November 6 | Charlotte | | Dirk Nowitzki (34) | Dirk Nowitzki (10) | Steve Nash (6) | American Airlines Center16,905 | 4–1 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 6 | November 8 | Denver | | Dirk Nowitzki (33) | Eduardo Nájera (10) | Steve Nash (12) | American Airlines Center17,471 | 5–1 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 7 | November 10 | Philadelphia | | Dirk Nowitzki (25) | Nowitzki, Howard (10) | Steve Nash (10) | American Airlines Center19,857 | 5–2 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 8 | November 14 | @ Cleveland | | Dirk Nowitzki (28) | Juwan Howard (10) | Steve Nash (12) | Gund Arena12,414 | 6–2 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 9 | November 15 | @ Detroit | | Michael Finley (19) | Juwan Howard (8) | Nash, Martin (3) | The Palace of Auburn Hills13,445 | 6–3 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 10 | November 17 | @ Houston | | Steve Nash (21) | Greg Buckner (10) | Nash, Finley (4) | Compaq Center11,978 | 6–4 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 11 | November 20 | Seattle | | Michael Finley (26) | Juwan Howard (13) | Nash, Nowitzki (6) | American Airlines Center18,949 | 6–5 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 12 | November 21 | @ Charlotte | | Michael Finley (22) | Dirk Nowitzki (11) | Steve Nash (6) | Charlotte Coliseum8,932 | 7–5 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 13 | November 23 | @ Miami | | Dirk Nowitzki (33) | Dirk Nowitzki (11) | Steve Nash (9) | American Airlines Arena15,486 | 8–5 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 14 | November 24 | Phoenix | | Dirk Nowitzki (32) | Juwan Howard (13) | Steve Nash (9) | American Airlines Center19,869 | 9–5 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 15 | November 27 | Golden State | | Michael Finley (39) | three players tied (7) | Steve Nash (9) | American Airlines Center17,110 | 10–5 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 16 | November 29 | Sacramento | | Dirk Nowitzki (29) | Dirk Nowitzki (11) | Steve Nash (8) | American Airlines Center18,384 | 10–6
|-style="background:#cfc;" | 17 | December 1 | @ Golden State | | Dirk Nowitzki (21) | Michael Finley (10) | Steve Nash (8) | The Arena in Oakland14,122 | 11–6 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 18 | December 2 | @ Sacramento | | Dirk Nowitzki (32) | Dirk Nowitzki (14) | Michael Finley (7) | ARCO Arena17,317 | 12–6 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 19 | December 5 | @ L.A. Lakers | | Dirk Nowitzki (33) | Dirk Nowitzki (14) | Steve Nash (13) | Staples Center18,997 | 12–7 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 20 | December 8 | Washington | | Michael Finley (32) | Juwan Howard (6) | Steve Nash (10) | American Airlines Center20,241 | 12–8 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 21 | December 10 | @ Utah | | Dirk Nowitzki (27) | Dirk Nowitzki (10) | Steve Nash (8) | Delta Center18,097 | 12–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 22 | December 11 | Portland | | Steve Nash (39) | Nájera, Howard (9) | Steve Nash (7) | American Airlines Center17,029 | 13–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 23 | December 13 | Cleveland | | Michael Finley (22) | Adrian Griffin (11) | Nash, Hardaway (7) | American Airlines Center17,408 | 14–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 24 | December 15 | Minnesota | | Michael Finley (30) | Dirk Nowitzki (15) | Steve Nash (7) | American Airlines Center19,485 | 15–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 25 | December 18 | @ Minnesota | | Michael Finley (26) | Dirk Nowitzki (15) | Finley, Nash (5) | Target Center17,079 | 16–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 26 | December 20 | Milwaukee | | Finley, Nash (33) | Dirk Nowitzki (12) | Finley, Nash (8) | American Airlines Center19,780 | 17–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 27 | December 22 | Orlando | | Tim Hardaway (18) | Eduardo Nájera (10) | Nash, Hardaway (5) | American Airlines Center19,920 | 18–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 28 | December 26 | @ San Antonio | | Michael Finley (28) | Dirk Nowitzki (11) | Michael Finley (6) | Alamodome20,667 | 19–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 29 | December 27 | Chicago | | Dirk Nowitzki (24) | Eduardo Nájera (14) | Steve Nash (14) | American Airlines Center20,018 | 20–9 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 30 | December 29 | Atlanta | | Dirk Nowitzki (35) | Dirk Nowitzki (12) | Steve Nash (10) | American Airlines Center20,032 | 21–9
|-style="background:#cfc;" | 31 | January 2 | @ Chicago | | Steve Nash (24) | Dirk Nowitzki (8) | Steve Nash (11) | United Center17,824 | 22–9 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 32 | January 3 | @ New York | | Dirk Nowitzki (30) | Dirk Nowitzki (16) | Nash, Hardaway (7) | Madison Square Garden19,763 | 22–10 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 33 | January 5 | San Antonio | | Dirk Nowitzki (28) | Dirk Nowitzki (14) | Nash, Hardaway (6) | American Airlines Center20,123 | 22–11 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 34 | January 8 | Denver | | Dirk Nowitzki (27) | Juwan Howard (9) | Steve Nash (8) | American Airlines Center19,617 | 23–11 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 35 | January 10 | New York | | Dirk Nowitzki (29) | Dirk Nowitzki (13) | Steve Nash (11) | American Airlines Center20,019 | 24–11 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 36 | January 12 | Indiana | | Dirk Nowitzki (31) | Dirk Nowitzki (11) | Steve Nash (11) | American Airlines Center20,071 | 25–11 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 37 | January 14 | @ Orlando | | Juwan Howard (26) | Juwan Howard (8) | Tim Hardaway (4) | TD Waterhouse Centre13,237 | 25–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 38 | January 15 | @ Atlanta | | Dirk Nowitzki (40) | Dirk Nowitzki (11) | Steve Nash (10) | Philips Arena8,214 | 26–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 39 | January 17 | @ Memphis | | Dirk Nowitzki (32) | Greg Buckner (9) | Steve Nash (10) | Pyramid Arena12,732 | 27–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 40 | January 19 | Utah | | Dirk Nowitzki (34) | Buckner, Nájera (9) | Steve Nash (9) | American Airlines Center20,146 | 28–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 41 | January 21 | New Jersey | | Dirk Nowitzki (39) | Dirk Nowitzki (13) | Tim Hardaway (6) | American Airlines Center20,039 | 29–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 42 | January 22 | @ Houston | | Steve Nash (31) | Juwan Howard (13) | Steve Nash (10) | Compaq Center11,030 | 30–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 43 | January 24 | @ Denver | | Dirk Nowitzki (26) | Juwan Howard (13) | Tim Hardaway (6) | Pepsi Center16,045 | 31–12 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 44 | January 26 | @ L.A. Clippers | | Dirk Nowitzki (28) | Nowitzki, Howard (7) | Steve Nash (11) | Staples Center19,311 | 32–12 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 45 | January 29 | L.A. Clippers | | Nowitzki, Nash (22) | Adrian Griffin (10) | Tim Hardaway (7) | American Airlines Center19,948 | 32–13 |-style="background:#cfc;" | 46 | January 31 | Houston | | Steve Nash (33)