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. No ...

was the 55th season for 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 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 ...

. The Celtics received the eleventh overall pick in the

2000 NBA draft The 2000 NBA draft was held on June 28, 2000, at the Target Center in Minneapolis. It was the last draft held at the home arena of an NBA team until 2011; the following and subsequent drafts (through 2010) all took place at The Theater at Madis ...

, and selected power forward

Jérôme Moïso Jérôme Moïso (born 15 June 1978) is a French former professional basketball player. College career He played college basketball at UCLA with the UCLA Bruins. Professional career A forward-center who has played in the NBA, Moïso was selected ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. During the off-season, the team acquired

Bryant Stith Bryant Lamonica Stith (born December 10, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently a men's assistant basketball coach at University of North Carolina Gree ...

, and second-year guard

Chris Herren Christopher Albert Herren (born September 27, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player and motivational speaker. He played in the NBA and several leagues overseas. Youth and high school Herren attended B.M.C. Durfee High Sc ...

from the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, and signed free agents Randy Brown, Chris Carr, and rookie center Mark Blount. Prior to the start of the regular season, the Celtics were nearly hit with tragedy when

Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...

was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck and back, and had a bottle smashed over his head, and was attacked by three men at the Buzz Club, a late night dance club in the

Boston Theater District The Boston Theater District is the center of Boston's theater scene. Many of its theaters are on Washington Street, Tremont Street, Boylston Street, and Huntington Avenue. History Plays were banned in Boston by the Puritans until 1792. Bost ...

on September 25, 2000;

Tony Battie Demetrius Antonio Battie (born February 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He works as an analyst for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). High school and college career Battie attended ...

, Pierce's Celtic teammate, along with Battie's brother, saved him by rushing him to a nearby hospital, where Pierce had to undergo lung surgery to repair the damage. Nevertheless, Pierce was the only Celtic to start all 82 games during the 2000–01 season. The Celtics played around .500 basketball in November, but then struggled as Kenny Anderson only played just 33 games due to an ankle injury and broken jaw, and Battie only played just 40 games due to an ankle injury. With a 12–22 start to the regular season, a frustrated

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

resigned as head coach after three years with the Celtics. Under replacement Jim O'Brien, the team played around .500 basketball for the remainder of the season posting a six-game winning streak between January and February, but later lost six of their final eight games, finishing in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 36–46 record, and missing the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

for the sixth consecutive year; in the 39 years before the current streak, they had missed the playoffs only five times. Pierce averaged 25.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and finished in 13th 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, while

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

averaged 23.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and led the league with 221 three-point field goals. In addition, Stith contributed 9.7 points per game, and Anderson provided the team with 7.5 points, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench,

Vitaly Potapenko Vitalii Mykolayovych Potapenko ( , ; born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketbal ...

averaged 7.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...

contributed 6.6 points per game, and Battie provided with 6.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Following the season, Stith signed as a free agent with 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 ...

, while second-year guard

Adrian Griffin Adrian Darnell Griffin Sr. (born July 4, 1974) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA a ...

signed with the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, and Carr was released to free agency.

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , 33 , , 28 , , 25.7 , , .388 , , .333 , , .831 , , 2.2 , , 4.1 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 40 , , 25 , , 21.1 , , .537 , , .000 , , .638 , , 5.8 , , .4 , , .7 , , 1.5 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 64 , , 50 , , 17.2 , , .505 , , , , .697 , , 3.6 , , .5 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 54 , , 35 , , 22.9 , , .422 , , .000 , , .575 , , 1.8 , , 2.9 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 4.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 7 , , 0 , , 20.3 , , .286 , , .182 , , .444 , , 1.3 , , 3.4 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 3.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 35 , , 0 , , 8.8 , , .473 , , .459 , , .767 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .1 , , .1 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 44 , , 0 , , 8.6 , , .340 , , .346 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .4 , , .1 , , 2.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 25 , , 7 , , 16.3 , , .302 , , .291 , , .750 , , .8 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .0 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 60 , , 3 , , 8.0 , , .357 , , .339 , , .786 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 24 , , 0 , , 5.6 , , .400 , , .000 , , .423 , , 1.8 , , .1 , , .1 , , .2 , , 1.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", ^† , 7 , , 1 , , 20.6 , , .341 , , .250 , , .636 , , 2.1 , , 2.7 , , .6 , , .0 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 58 , , 6 , , 19.7 , , .472 , , .333 , , .848 , , 1.8 , , 2.6 , , .8 , , .0 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 82 , , 38.0 , , .454 , , .383 , , .745 , , 6.4 , , 3.1 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , 25.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 82 , , 7 , , 23.2 , , .476 , , , , .728 , , 6.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 78 , , 74 , , 32.1 , , .401 , , .376 , , .845 , , 3.6 , , 2.2 , , 1.2 , , .2 , , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 81 , , 41.9 , , .413 , , .367 , , .716 , , 8.9 , , 5.5 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , 23.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , 81 , , 11 , , 21.5 , , .362 , , .331 , , .714 , , 2.6 , , 1.4 , , .8 , , .2 , , 6.6 Player Statistics Citation:

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Player statistics

Regular season

Awards and records

Transactions

See also

References