2001 NBA Standings: A Look Back

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 20 years since the 2001 NBA season Let’s take a look back at where each team finished in the standings.

Eastern Conference

In the 2001 NBA season the Eastern Conference was top heavy. The top four seeds (Milwaukee, Indiana, Philadelphia, and Charlotte) all won at least 56 games, while no other team won more than 50. The 8th and final playoff spot was won by Orlando with just a 41-41 record. In the playoffs, the top four seeds all advanced to the second round, with Milwaukee and Indiana eventually meeting in the Conference Finals Top seeded Milwaukee would win that series 4-2 on their way to an NBA Finals appearance.

Western Conference

The 2001 NBA season was the 55th regular season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 30, 2000, and ended on April 19, 2001. The playoffs began on April 21, 2001 and ended with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1.

Central Division

The Central Division was a close race in 2001, with the top four teams separated by only five games. The Indiana Pacers won the division with a 56-26 record, just ahead of the Detroit Pistons (54-28), Milwaukee Bucks (52-30), and Chicago Bulls (51-31). All four teams made the playoffs, with the Pacers and Pistons advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals

Southeast Division

In 2001, the NBA Southeast Division was made up of the Charlotte Hornets Atlanta Hawks Miami Heat Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards The Charlotte Hornets finished the season in first place with a record of 56-26. The Atlanta Hawks finished in second place with a record of 50-32. The Miami Heat finished in third place with a record of 42-40. The Orlando Magic finished in fourth place with a record of 41-41. The Washington Wizards finished in fifth place with a record of 19-63.

Northwest Division

The Northwest Division of the 2001 NBA season was perhaps the most competitive and evenly matched division in the league.

The Portland Trail Blazers won the division with a record of 50-16, just four games ahead of the second place Utah Jazz

The Jazz were a powerhouse team led by All-Stars Karl Malone and John Stockton but they were marginally outperformed by the Blazers, who featured young stars such as Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire.

The Seattle SuperSonics (45-21) and Minnesota Timberwolves (44-22) rounded out the top four teams in the division, while the Denver Nuggets (27-39) brought up the rear.

All five teams in the division made the playoffs, with the SuperSonics and Nuggets bowing out in the first round and the Blazers losing in the Western Conference Finals to eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers

Pacific Division

The Pacific Division was a division of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Western Conference from 1970 to 2004. The division existed for a total of 34 seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 season when the NBA realigned itself into two conferences with two divisions each and ending with the 2003–04 season when the NBA did away with divisions altogether and realigned itself into a singular conference with three divisions. The division was created at the start of the 1970–71 season as part of the Western Conference For the first 25 years of its existence, it was generally considered as one of if not, THE premier division in the NBA. From 1995 to 2001 however, you can make a strong case that it was the worst division in NBA history A look back at how each team fared in those years:

1995-96
1. Seattle SuperSonics (64-18)
2. Phoenix Suns (59-23)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (56-26)
4. Sacramento Kings (43-39)
5. Golden State Warriors (30-52)

1996-97
1. Seattle SuperSonics (63-19)
2. Utah Jazz (64-18)
3. Los Angeles Lakers (56-26)
4. Phoenix Suns (53-29)
5. Sacramento Kings(36-46) Golden State Warriors(30-52) Portland Trail Blazers(29-53) Los Angeles Clippers(17-65) //From this point on, only five teams are listed due to space constraints move to divisional play starting in 2004–05 season 6 . Dallas Mavericks(20-62) //Division winner determined by best winning 7 . Houston Rockets(13-69) percentage 8 . Minnesota Timberwolves(11-71)(Preseason and Regular Season games 9 . Vancouver Grizzlies played against each other team within 10 . Denver Nuggets their own conference 11  San Antonio Spurs ) 12   Memphis Grizzlies 13   Orlando Magic 14   New Orleans Pelicans //Divisional winners determined by best 15   Atlanta Hawks winning percentage among all teams in 16   Charlotte Hornets same division 17 Philadelphia 76ers 18 Washington Bullets // Commonly known as 19 Indiana Pacers Washington Wizards 20 Detroit Pistons 21 Cleveland Cavaliers 22 Milwaukee Bucks 23 New York Knicks 24 Boston Celtics 25 Toronto Raptors 26 Vancouver Grizzlies 27 Memphis Grizzlies 28 New Orleans Pelicans 29 Orlando Magic 30 Charlotte Hornets

Atlantic Division

In 2001, the Atlantic Division was made up of the Boston Celtics New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets The divisional standings were as follows:

Boston Celtics (53-29)
New York Knicks (48-34)
Philadelphia 76ers (43-39)
Toronto Raptors (42-40)
New Jersey Nets (42-40)

The Celtics won the division that year, led by their All-Star duo of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. The Knicks were second, followed closely by the Sixers and Raptors. The Nets rounded out the division in fifth place.

It was a tight race at the top of the Atlantic Division in 2001, with just five games separating first place from fifth place. All five teams had winning records, making it one of the most competitive divisions in the NBA that year.

Midwest Division

In the Midwest Division, the Milwaukee Bucks led the way with a division-best 52-30 record. The Indiana Pacers were not far behind, finishing the season 51-31. The Chicago Bulls (47-35) and the Detroit Pistons (39-43) rounded out the division.

NBA Finals

The 2001 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2000–01 season. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers took on the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers for the championship, with the Lakers holding home court advantage in a best-of-seven format. The Lakers won the series 4 games to 1. Shaquille O’Neal was named as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the series.

Awards

The National Basketball Association handed out its annual awards during the 2001 NBA Awards Ceremony. This event was held on June 6, 2002, at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles California. The main award given out during this ceremony was the NBA Most Valuable Player Award This year, the recipient of the award was Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers