The

2001–02 NBA season The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning their third straight championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4–0 in the 2002 NBA Finals. Notab ...

was the 53rd season for the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

in the

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

, and their 39th season in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The 76ers were coming off of an

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

defeat to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, in which they won Game 1, but lost the next four games. During the off-season, the team re-acquired forward 76ers forward Derrick Coleman from the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

, and acquired Corie Blount and

Vonteego Cummings Vonteego Marfeek Cummings (born February 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who last played for Atenienses de Manatí (basketball), Atenienses de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) in Puerto Rico. A co ...

from the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

in a three-team trade, acquired

Matt Harpring Matthew Joseph Harpring (born May 31, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was formerly paired with play-by-play broadcaster Craig Bolerjack as the colo ...

from the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

, and signed free agent Derrick McKey midway through the season. Having won the Eastern Conference Championship last season, reigning MVP

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson ( ; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rook ...

, Sixth Man Aaron McKie, and point guard Eric Snow were all sidelined with injuries as the 76ers lost their first five games of the regular season; Iverson was out with an elbow injury, while McKie had a shoulder injury, and Snow was out with a broken thumb. Also just four games into the season, center

Matt Geiger Matthew Allen Geiger (born September 10, 1969) is an American former professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player who played at the center position. College career Geiger played for Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida ...

retired. However, when their players returned, they won seven in a row after their bad start, but then lost seven straight in December leading to a 8–14 start to the season. The 76ers would play above .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, holding a 25–24 record at the All-Star break, and would climb back into playoff connection by finishing in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 43–39 record, and earning the #6 seed in the Eastern Conference. Iverson averaged 31.4 points, 5.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game in 60 games this season, and was named to the

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 sel ...

, while

Dikembe Mutombo Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo (June 25, 1966 – September 30, 2024) was a Congolese-American professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Mount Mutombo ...

averaged 11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game and was named to the

All-NBA Third 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 sel ...

, and to the

NBA All-Defensive Second 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 ...

. In addition, Coleman averaged 15.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while McKie provided the team with 12.2 points per game, Harpring contributed 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and Snow provided with 12.1 points, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Iverson and Mutombo were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, which Philadelphia hosted at the First Union Center, and Iverson wore number #6 to honor Hall of Famer, and 76ers legend

Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...

. Iverson also finished in ninth place in

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (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 particular competition, or ...

voting, and Mutombo finished tied in third place in Defensive Player of the Year voting. However, the 76ers lost in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in five games. Following the season, Mutombo was traded to the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

, while Harpring signed as a free agent with the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

, rookie guard Speedy Claxton was traded to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, Blount and Cummings were both released to free agency, and McKey retired.

Offseason

During the offseason, the 76ers made multiple trades. On August 3, the organization traded

Tyrone Hill Tyrone Hill (born March 19, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. Hill spent four years playing collegiately at Xavier University, in his l ...

to the

(where he had previously played four seasons) for

, Cedric Henderson, and Robert Traylor. On the same day, the 76ers would trade Roshown McLeod and a 2003 1st round draft pick to the

for Jérôme Moïso. Harpring would be Philadelphia's starting small forward for the season, while Henderson, Traylor, and Moïso would be traded before the season started. On October 2, the 76ers signed

Ira Bowman Ira Bowman (born June 11, 1973) is a retired American professional basketball player formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for Auburn University. He attended Providence Colleg ...

. Bowman would play 3 games before being waived on November 6. On October 25, the 76ers were involved in a three-team trade with the

and the

. The 76ers traded Cedric Henderson and a 2005 1st round draft pick to the Warriors. They also traded George Lynch, Jérôme Moïso, and Robert Traylor to the Hornets. The 76ers received Derrick Coleman from the Hornets and Corie Blount and

from the Warriors.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

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

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

, - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 1 , April 21 , @

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

L 82–92
,

(20) ,

(11) , Eric Snow (5) , FleetCenter
18,624 , 0–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 2 , April 25 , @

L 85–93
,

(29) , Derrick Coleman (13) ,

(7) , FleetCenter
18,624 , 0–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 28 ,

W 108–103
,

(42) ,

(11) , Eric Snow (5) , First Union Center
20,689 , 1–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 4 , May 1 ,

W 83–81
,

(28) ,

(14) , Eric Snow (11) , First Union Center
20,904 , 2–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , May 3 , @