2001–02 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 2001–02 Portland Trail Blazers season was the 32nd season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, head coach Mike Dunleavy was fired after four years and two trips to the Western Conference Finals, and was replaced with Maurice Cheeks, as the Trail Blazers acquired Derek Anderson and Steve Kerr from the San Antonio Spurs, signed free agent Ruben Patterson, and re-signed former Trail Blazers center Chris Dudley; Kerr would reunite with his former teammate of the Chicago Bulls, former All-Star forward Scottie Pippen, where they won three NBA championships in the late 1990s.

The Trail Blazers struggled with a 13–18 start to the regular season, after losing six straight games between December and January, but managed to hold a 25–23 record at the All-Star break, and then posted a 12-game winning streak between February and March, finishing in third place in the Pacific Division with a 49–33 record, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the 20th consecutive year.

Rasheed Wallace averaged 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and led the Trail Blazers with 114 three-point field goals, while Bonzi Wells averaged 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, and Damon Stoudamire provided the team with 13.5 points and 6.5 assists per game, along with 104 three-point field goals. In addition, Patterson contributed 11.2 points per game, while Anderson contributed 10.8 points per game, Pippen provided with 10.6 points, 5.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and Dale Davis averaged 9.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Shawn Kemp averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and Kerr contributed 4.1 points per game.

In the Western Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, the Trail Blazers faced off against the 3rd–seeded, and 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were led by the trio of All-Star center Shaquille O'Neal, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant, and Derek Fisher. The result was identical to the previous year's playoffs; the Trail Blazers lost the first two games to the Lakers on the road at the Staples Center, before losing Game 3 at home, 92–91 at the Rose Garden Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep. It was the fifth time in the last six seasons that the Trail Blazers' postseason run was ended by the Lakers. The Lakers would go on to defeat the New Jersey Nets in a four-game sweep in the 2002 NBA Finals, winning their third consecutive NBA championship.

The Trail Blazers finished seventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 797,821 at the Rose Garden Arena during the regular season. Following the season, Kemp signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic, and Kerr was traded back to his former team, the San Antonio Spurs.