2000–01 Phoenix Suns season

The 2000–01 NBA season was the 33rd season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Suns signed free agents Mario Elie,^[2][3][4] and Tony Delk,^[5][6] and acquired Chris Dudley from the New York Knicks.^[7]

2000–01 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	Scott Skiles
General manager	Bryan Colangelo
Owner(s)	Jerry Colangelo
Arena	America West Arena
Results
Record	51–31 (.622)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Kings 1–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KUTP Fox Sports Net Arizona Cox 9
Radio	KTAR
< 1999–00 2001–02 >

The Suns were coached by Scott Skiles, who enjoyed his first full season as head coach as the team posted a 7-game winning streak after losing their season opener, and held a 28–20 record at the All-Star break.^[8] The Suns posted another 7-game winning streak between March and April, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a 51–31 record, which earned them the #6 seed in the Western Conference;^[9] for a franchise-record 13th season in a row, the Suns qualified for the NBA playoffs.^[10] All home games were played at the America West Arena.

The Suns were led by point guard Jason Kidd, who averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game; Kidd again led the league in assists per game, while earning another All-NBA First Team selection, and NBA All-Defensive First Team (after being selected to the Second Team the previous year). He was also the team's lone representative in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

In addition, second-year star Shawn Marion showed improvement as he averaged a double-double, with 17.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, while Clifford Robinson provided the team with 16.4 points per game. Off the bench, Delk contributed 12.3 points per game, and Rodney Rogers provided with 12.2 points per game.^[16] Penny Hardaway was the team's highest-paid player, but only played in just four games due to a knee injury, averaging 9.8 points and 1.5 steals per game,^[17][18] while Tom Gugliotta averaged 6.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, but only played 57 games due to injury, and Elie contributed 4.4 points per game.^[16]

In the 2001 NBA playoffs, the Suns earned a Western Conference First Round match-up with the 3rd-seeded Sacramento Kings, the Suns would take Game 1, a 86–83 road win at the ARCO Arena II,^[19][20] but would then lose the next three games in a row, thus losing the series three games to one.^{[21][22][23][24]}

Following the season, Kidd was traded to the New Jersey Nets,^{[25][26][27][28][29]} while Robinson was dealt to the Detroit Pistons,^{[30][31][32][33]} Dudley re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers, and Elie retired.

For the season, the Suns redesigned their primary logo,^[34] and changed their uniforms adding side panels to their jerseys and shorts,^[35][36] and grey to their color scheme; the logo and uniforms both remained in use until 2013.

Offseason

NBA draft

Main article: 2000 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Club Team
1	25	Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis	Center	Georgia	AEK (Greece)

Roster

2000–01 Phoenix Suns roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 8 Vinny Del Negro 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1966–08–09 NC State G 00 Tony Delk 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1974–01–28 Kentucky C 14 Chris Dudley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–02–22 Yale G 17 Mario Elie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1963–11–26 American International F 24 Tom Gugliotta 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1969–12–19 NC State G 1 Penny Hardaway 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–07–18 Memphis G 32 Jason Kidd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1973–03–23 California F 31 Shawn Marion 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–05–07 UNLV G 2 Elliot Perry 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1969–03–28 Memphis F 30 Clifford Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut F 54 Rodney Rogers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1971–06–20 Wake Forest C 15 Daniel Santiago 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 256 lb (116 kg) 1976–06–24 Saint Vincent C 25 Jake Tsakalidis 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 285 lb (129 kg) 1979–06–10 Georgia

Head coach Scott Skiles Assistant(s) Jim Boylan Frank Johnson Phil Weber Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: January 26, 2001

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	–	31–10	25–16	14–10
x-Sacramento Kings	55	27	.671	1	33–8	22–19	16–8
x-Phoenix Suns	51	31	.622	5	31–10	20–21	12–12
x-Portland Trail Blazers	50	32	.610	6	28–13	22–19	12–12
e-Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	12	26–15	18–23	17–7
e-Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	378	25	22–19	9–32	9–15
e-Golden State Warriors	17	65	.207	39	11–30	6–35	4–20

Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	58	24	.707	–
2	y-Los Angeles Lakers	56	26	.683	2
3	x-Sacramento Kings	55	27	.671	3
4	x-Utah Jazz	53	29	.646	5
5	x-Dallas Mavericks	53	29	.646	5
6	x-Phoenix Suns	51	31	.622	7
7	x-Portland Trail Blazers	50	32	.610	8
8	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	47	35	.573	11
9	e-Houston Rockets	45	37	.549	13
10	e-Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	14
11	e-Denver Nuggets	40	42	.488	18
12	e-Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	27
13	e-Vancouver Grizzlies	23	59	.280	35
14	e-Golden State Warriors	17	65	.207	41

Record vs. opponents

2000-01 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–1	—	0–4	2–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–1
Charlotte	4–0	4–0	—	3–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	4–0	1–2	2–1	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2
Chicago	2–2	1–2	1–3	—	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–1
Cleveland	2–2	1–2	2–2	3–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–0	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	—	3–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0
Denver	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–3	—	1–1	4–0	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	1–3	4–0	1–1
Detroit	4–0	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	4–0	1–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–2
Golden State	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	—	1–3	2–0	1–3	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–2
Houston	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–0	3–1	—	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Indiana	2–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	—	2–0	1–1	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	2–0	4–0
L.A. Clippers	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–4	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	0–2	—	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1
L.A. Lakers	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	—	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	2–2	4–0	2–0
Miami	3–0	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	0–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–1	2–0	1–1	—	1–2	1–1	3–1	2–3	3–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	4–0
Milwaukee	3–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–1	—	0–2	4–0	1–2	4–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1
New Jersey	3–1	0–4	0–4	2–2	0–3	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	—	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–2	1–1	3–1
New York	2–2	3–1	2–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–1	2–0	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	4–0
Orlando	3–1	3–1	1–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	3–1	1–3	—	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Philadelphia	3–0	4–0	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	4–0
Phoenix	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	—	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	—	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	3–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	—	0–2	0–4	3–1	2–0
Toronto	2–2	3–1	1–3	4–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–1	3–1	1–2	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	4–0
Utah	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–3	4–0	1–3	0–2	—	4–0	2–0
Vancouver	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	3–1	0–4	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–1	2–0	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	—

Playoffs

2001 playoff game log
First Round: 1–3 (home: 0–2; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 22 @ Sacramento W 86–83 Shawn Marion (21) Jake Tsakalidis (11) Jason Kidd (14) ARCO Arena 17,317 1–0 2 April 25 @ Sacramento L 90–116 Tony Delk (14) Tom Gugliotta (8) Jason Kidd (9) ARCO Arena 17,317 1–1 3 April 29 Sacramento L 96–104 Jason Kidd (19) Shawn Marion (10) Jason Kidd (16) America West Arena 19,023 1–2 4 May 2 Sacramento L 82–89 Clifford Robinson (24) Jake Tsakalidis (12) Jason Kidd (14) America West Arena 18,836 1–3
2001 schedule

Awards and honors

All-Star

• Jason Kidd was voted as a starter for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his fourth All-Star selection. Kidd finished second in voting among Western Conference guards with 1,062,837 votes.

Season

• Jason Kidd was named to the All-NBA First Team. Kidd also finished eighth in MVP voting.^[37][38]
• Jason Kidd was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Kidd also finished 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.^[37][38]
• Jason Kidd led the league in assists per game, with a 9.8 average, and total assists with 753.
• Shawn Marion finished 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and fourth in Most Improved Player voting.^[37][38]
• Rodney Rogers finished sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[37][38] Rogers won the award the previous year in 2000.
• Tony Delk finished tenth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[37][38]

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Corie Blount*	30	6	12.9	.489†	.	.533	2.8	0.3	.4	.2	1.8
Vinny Del Negro*	36	0	14.6	.528†	.000	.893^	1.4	1.8	.6	.1	4.9
Tony Delk	82	11	27.9	.415	.321	.787	3.2	2.0	.9	.2	12.3
Chris Dudley	53	33	11.6	.397	.	.389	3.5	0.3	.3	.5	1.4
Mario Elie	68	67	22.1	.423	.360	.797	2.3	1.9	.9	.2	4.4
Rubén Garcés*	10	0	6.2	.467	.	.250	2.2	0.4	.2	.1	1.6
Tom Gugliotta	57	2	20.3	.392	.250	.792	4.5	1.0	.8	.4	6.4
Penny Hardaway	4	4	28.0	.417	.250	.636	4.5	3.8	1.5	.3	9.8
Jason Kidd	77	76	39.8	.411	.297	.814^	6.4	9.8	2.2	.3	16.9
Shawn Marion	79	79	36.2	.480†	.256	.810	10.7	2.0	1.7	1.4	17.3
Paul McPherson*	33	0	9.3	.490†	.000	.750	1.5	0.5	.4	.1	3.4
Elliot Perry*	43	6	10.7	.465	.250	.727	1.0	1.7	.4	.0	3.2
Clifford Robinson	82	82	33.5	.422	.361	.709	4.1	2.9	1.1	1.0	16.4
Rodney Rogers	82	3	26.6	.430	.296	.761	4.4	2.2	1.2	.6	12.2
Daniel Santiago	54	2	10.8	.478	.	.689	1.9	0.2	.3	.4	3.1
Jake Tsakalidis	57	39	16.6	.470	.	.593	4.2	0.3	.2	1.0	4.5

* – Stats with the Suns.
† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Vinny Del Negro	3	0	8.7	.571	.	.	0.7	1.7	.0	.0	2.7
Tony Delk	4	0	28.5	.419	.400	.636	4.0	1.0	.8	.0	11.8
Chris Dudley	3	0	8.7	.500	.	.	2.3	0.0	.3	.3	0.7
Mario Elie	4	4	25.8	.452	.154	.750	3.3	1.8	.8	.3	9.0
Tom Gugliotta	4	0	21.5	.308	.	.778	3.8	0.8	2.0	.3	5.8
Jason Kidd	4	4	41.5	.319	.235	.750	6.0	13.3	2.0	.0	14.3
Shawn Marion	4	4	34.8	.371	1.000	.857	8.3	0.8	1.5	1.5	14.8
Elliot Perry	2	0	8.5	.600	.000	1.000	2.0	2.0	1.0	.0	6.5
Clifford Robinson	4	4	28.5	.420	.250	.636	4.0	1.0	1.5	.5	15.0
Rodney Rogers	4	0	20.5	.300	.200	.643	3.5	0.5	.5	.8	8.8
Daniel Santiago	1	0	12.0	.500	.	.	5.0	0.0	.0	2.0	2.0
Jake Tsakalidis	4	4	18.8	.375	.	.	7.0	0.0	.0	1.8	3.0

Player Statistics Citation:^[16]

Transactions

Trades

September 20, 2000	To New York Knicks Lazaro Borrell Travis Knight Luc Longley Vernon Maxwell Glen Rice Vladimir Stepania 2001 first-round draft pick ( Jamaal Tinsley) 2001 second-round draft pick ( Eric Chenowith) 2001 second-round draft pick ( Michael Wright 2002 first-round draft pick ( Kareem Rush)	To Los Angeles Lakers Emanual Davis Greg Foster Horace Grant Chuck Person
To Seattle SuperSonics Patrick Ewing	To Phoenix Suns Chris Dudley 2001 first-round draft pick ( Jason Collins) Cash considerations
January 26, 2001	To Golden State Warriors Corie Blount Rubén Garcés Paul McPherson	To Phoenix Suns Vinny Del Negro

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Contract	Former Team
August 1, 2000	Tony Delk	Signed to 6-year contract for $19 million	Sacramento Kings
August 2, 2000	Daniel Santiago	Signed to 1-year contract for $317,000	Pallacanestro Varese (Italy)
August 3, 2000	Corie Blount	Re-signed to 2-year contract for $3.2 million	Phoenix Suns
August 3, 2000	Justin Love	Undisclosed
August 3, 2000	Rubén Garcés	Signed to 1-year contract for $317,000	La Crosse Bobcats (CBA)
August 22, 2000	Paul McPherson	Signed to 1-year contract for $317,000
September 15, 2000	Mario Elie	Signed to 1-year contract for $1 million	San Antonio Spurs
September 29, 2000	Carlos Daniel	Undisclosed	Yakima Sun Kings (CBA)
September 29, 2000	DeJuan Wheat	Undisclosed	Idaho Stampede (CBA)
September 29, 2000	Lelan McDougal	Undisclosed	Billings RimRockers (IBA)
September 29, 2000	Tim Kempton	Undisclosed	Toronto Raptors
October 1, 2000	J. R. Koch	Undisclosed	Athlon Ieper (Belgium)
October 1, 2000	Reed Rawlings	Undisclosed
December 8, 2000	Elliot Perry	Undisclosed	Orlando Magic
January 17, 2001	Elliot Perry	Signed two 10-day contracts	Phoenix Suns
February 6, 2001	Elliot Perry	Signed for rest of season	Phoenix Suns

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason left	New team
June 30, 2000	Toby Bailey	Free agent	Los Angeles Stars (ABA)
August 8, 2000	Kevin Johnson	Retired
August 31, 2000	Randy Livingston	Waived	Golden State Warriors
September 13, 2000	Don MacLean	Free agent	Miami Heat
October 6, 2000	J. R. Koch	Waived	Las Vegas Silver Bandits (IBL)
October 6, 2000	Lelan McDougal	Waived	San Diego Wildfire (ABA)
October 16, 2000	Carlos Daniel	Waived	Sioux Falls Skyforce (IBL)
October 16, 2000	Reed Rawlings	Waived	Detroit Dogs (ABA)
October 25, 2000	DeJuan Wheat	Waived	Panteras de Miranda (Venezuela)
October 25, 2000	Justin Love	Waived	Kansas City Knights (ABA)
October 25, 2000	Tim Kempton	Waived
November 20, 2000	Rex Chapman	Retired
January 5, 2001	Elliot Perry	Waived	Phoenix Suns

Player Transactions Citation:^[39]