2001–02 Orlando Magic season

2001–02 Orlando Magic season
Head coachDoc Rivers
General managerJohn Gabriel
OwnersRDV Sports, Inc.
ArenaTD Waterhouse Centre
Results
Record4438 (.537)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Atlantic)
Conference: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Hornets 1–3)

Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television

The 2001–02 NBA season was the 13th season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Magic signed free agent All-Star center Patrick Ewing to their roster, and re-signed former Magic forward Horace Grant to further strengthen the team's depth. Early into the regular season in November, the team traded Bo Outlaw to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Jud Buechler in a three-team trade.

The Magic played around .500 basketball with a 25–24 record at the All-Star break. However, Grant Hill's comeback was ended after only just 14 games, averaging 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, as he had to get more surgery on his bad ankle. Despite Hill's injury, the Magic posted a six-game winning streak in March, and finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 44–38 record, which earned them the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tracy McGrady continued to emerge as a superstar, as he finished fourth in the NBA in scoring averaging 25.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and was selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; McGrady finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting with 7 first-place votes. In addition, second-year star Mike Miller continued to improve averaging 15.2 points per game, while Darrell Armstrong contributed 12.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game, and Troy Hudson and Pat Garrity both provided scoring off the bench, averaging 11.7 and 11.1 points per game respectively.

However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Magic lost in four games to the Charlotte Hornets. Following the season, Ewing retired after seventeen seasons in the NBA, and would take a job as the assistant coach for the Washington Wizards, while Hudson signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Monty Williams signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and Buechler and Dee Brown both retired.