The

2000–01 NBA season The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their second straight championship, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the 2001 NBA Finals. Nota ...

was the Hawks' 52nd season in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and 33rd season in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. The Hawks received the sixth pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected DerMarr Johnson from the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. In the off-season, the team signed free agent Matt Maloney, and re-signed Anthony Johnson after a brief stint with the Orlando Magic. Under new head coach

Lon Kruger Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is a retired American college and professional basketball coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for Kansas State Uni ...

, the Hawks got off to a bad start losing their first seven games, but then posted a 7–7 record in December. In January, the team traded Johnson and Jim Jackson to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for

Brevin Knight Brevin Adon Knight (born November 8, 1975) is an American former professional basketball point guard who played with nine teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2009. Knight played college basketball at Stanford Universi ...

. At midseason, Dikembe Mutombo, who was selected for the

2001 NBA All-Star Game The 2001 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 11, 2001 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., home of the Washington Wizards. This game was the 50th edition of the North American National Basketball ...

, was traded along with

Roshown McLeod Roshown McLeod (born November 17, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round (20th pick overall) of the 1998 NBA draft. A 6'8" small forward from St. John's University and ...

to the Philadelphia 76ers for

Theo Ratliff Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

Toni Kukoč Toni Kukoč, nicknamed ''“The Waiter”'' (; born September 18, 1968) is a Croatian-American former professional basketball player who serves as Special Advisor to Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls. After a highly successful perio ...

and

Nazr Mohammed Nazr Tahiru Mohammed ( ; born September 5, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current ...

. However, Ratliff injured his wrist prior to the trade, and was out for the remainder of the season. Mutombo would later on be named Defensive Player of the Year with the Sixers, who went on to lose in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Hawks continued to struggle losing ten straight games between February and March, as they finished seventh in the Central Division with a 25–57 record. Second-year star

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guard and is ...

showed improvement averaging 19.7 points, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while

Lorenzen Wright Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright (November 4, 1975 – July 19, 2010) was an American professional basketball player for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was drafted seventh overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers ...

averaged 12.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game,

Alan Henderson Alan Lybrooks Henderson (born December 2, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He stands 6'9" (2.06 m) tall. Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, Henderson attended Brebeuf Jesuit ...

provided the team with 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and Knight contributed 6.9 points, 6.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game in 47 games with the team after the trade. Following the season, Wright and Knight were both traded to the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

Offseason

Draft picks

Roster

Roster Notes

* Center

was acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers at midseason, but did not play with the Hawks this season due to a wrist injury.

Regular season

Season standings

:z - clinched division title :y - clinched division title :x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Season

Awards and records

* Dikembe Mutombo,

All-NBA Second Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sele ...