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. Not ...

was the 33rd season for the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, members of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Division 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 S ...

. During the off-season, the Suns signed free agents

Mario Elie is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

, and

Tony Delk Tony Lorenzo Delk (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player and college assistant coach. He last served as an assistant coach for the New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team. During his playing days, he w ...

, and acquired

Chris Dudley Christen Guilford Dudley (born February 22, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player and politician. He played 886 games across 16 seasons in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Jersey Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, New ...

from the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. The Suns were coached by

Scott Skiles Scott Allen Skiles Sr. (born March 5, 1964) is an American former basketball coach and player. He coached the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic. A first-round draft pick out of Michigan State University, Skiles played ...

, who enjoyed his first full season as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

as the Suns posted a 7-game winning streak after losing their season opener, and held a 28–20 record at the All-Star break. The team posted another 7-game winning streak between March and April, as they finished the regular season with a 51–31 record. For a franchise-record 13th season in a row, the Suns earned a trip to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, but would later lose in the Western Conference First Round.

America West Arena Footprint Center (formerly known as America West Arena, US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena and Phoenix Suns Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Built in the regional population center of the southwestern United Sta ...

was the home court venue for the Suns. The Suns were led by

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards ...

, who averaged 16.9

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, 6.4

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, 9.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Kidd again led the league in assists per game, while earning another

All-NBA First 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 ...

selection and

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

(after being selected to the Second Team the year previous). He was also the team's lone representative in 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 As ...

. In addition, second-year star

Shawn Marion Shawn Dwayne Marion (born May 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Marion finished his career as a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All- ...

showed improvement as he averaged a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

, with 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Kidd and Clifford Robinson were the other starters to provide the majority of the team's scoring, with Robinson averaging 16.4 points per game. Sixth men reserves Delk and

Rodney Rogers Rodney Ray Rogers (born June 20, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life Rogers was the fourth and youngest child born to Willie Wardsworth ...

both brought offensive firepower from the bench, averaging 12.3 and 12.2 points per game respectively.

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

was the team's highest-paid player, but only played in just four games due to a knee injury, averaging 9.8 points and 1.5 steals per game. For the fourth season in a row, the Suns finished third in the Pacific Division. The team earned a Western Conference First Round match-up with the 3rd-seeded

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. Phoenix would take Game 1, a 86–83 road win in Sacramento, but would then lose the next three games in a row, losing the series three games to one. Following the season, Kidd was traded to the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, while Robinson was dealt to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

, Dudley re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, and Elie retired. For the season, the Suns redesigned their primary logo, and changed their uniforms adding side panels to their jerseys and shorts, and grey to their color scheme. The logo and uniforms both remained in use until 2013.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 22 , @

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

W 86–83
,

(21) ,

Jake Tsakalidis Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis ( el, Ιάκωβος Τσακαλίδης, ka, იაკოვოს წაკალიდას, born June 10, 1979) is a Georgian-born Greek former professional basketball player. Tsakalidis, a center, holds dual cit ...

(11) ,

(14) , ARCO Arena
17,317 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 25 , @

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

L 90–116
,

(14) ,

Tom Gugliotta Thomas James Gugliotta (born December 19, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player who played thirteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life The youngest of seven children, Gugliotta has far Italian ...

(8) ,

(9) , ARCO Arena
17,317 , 1–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 29 ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

L 96–104
,

(19) ,

(10) ,

(16) ,

19,023 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , May 2 ,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

L 82–89
, Clifford Robinson (24) ,

(12) ,

(14) ,

18,836 , 1–3 , -

Awards and honors

All-Star

was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

. It was his fourth All-Star selection. Kidd finished second in voting among Western Conference guards with 1,062,837 votes.

Season

was named to the

. Kidd also finished eighth in

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting. *

was named to the

. Kidd also finished 11th in

Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY or DPOTY) is the name of an award given in sports for outstanding defensive play by a single player over the course of a season. Many sports leagues award this type of award. League awards for Defensive Player o ...

voting. *

led the league in assists per game, with a 9.8 average, and total assists with 753. *

finished 11th in

voting, and fourth in Most Improved Player voting. *

finished sixth in

Sixth Man of the Year The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitu ...

voting. Rogers won the award the previous year in 2000. *

finished tenth in

voting.

Player statistics

Season

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions

Player Transactions Citation:

References

External links

Standings on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Phoenix Suns season Phoenix Suns seasons