2000–01 Phoenix Suns season

2000–01 Phoenix Suns season
Jason Kidd's final season with the Suns
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	Lost in first round to Sacramento (1–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	KTAR

The 2000–01 Phoenix Suns season was the 33rd season for the Phoenix Suns, members of Pacific division in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Suns signed free agents Mario Elie and Tony Delk. The Suns were coached by Scott Skiles, who enjoyed his first full season as head coach as the Suns finished the regular season with a 51–31 record. For a franchise-record 13th season in a row, the Suns earned a trip to the playoffs but would later lose in the first round. America West Arena was the home court venue for the Suns.

The Suns were led by point guard Jason Kidd, who again topped 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 year previous). He was also the team's lone representative in the All-Star Game. Shawn Marion averaged a double-double, leading the team in scoring at 17.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game). Kidd and Clifford Robinson were the other starters to provide the majority of the team's scoring, while reserves Delk and Rodney Rogers brought offensive firepower from the bench, averaging 12 points per game. Anfernee Hardaway was the teams's highest-paid player but played in just four games, battling injury.

For the fourth season in a row, the Suns finished third in the Pacific division. The team earned a first-round match-up with the 3rd-seeded Sacramento Kings. Phoenix would take Game 1 but lose the next three in a row, losing three games to one. Following the season, Kidd was traded to the New Jersey Nets, Robinson was dealt to the Detroit Pistons and Elie retired.

For the season, the Suns changed their logo and uniforms which lasted until 2013.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	25	Iakovos "Jake" Tsakalidis	Center	Georgia

Roster

Phoenix Suns roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From G 8 Del Negro, Vinny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) August 9, 1966 North Carolina State G 00 Delk, Tony 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 189 lb (86 kg) January 28, 1974 Kentucky C 14 Dudley, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) February 22, 1965 Yale G 17 Elie, Mario 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) November 26, 1963 American International F 24 Gugliotta, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) December 19, 1969 North Carolina State G/F 1 Hardaway, Anfernee  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) July 18, 1971 Memphis G 32 Kidd, Jason 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) March 23, 1973 UC Berkeley F 31 Marion, Shawn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) May 7, 1978 UNLV G 2 Perry, Elliot 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) March 28, 1969 Memphis F/C 30 Robinson, Clifford 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) December 16, 1966 Connecticut F 54 Rogers, Rodney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) June 20, 1971 Wake Forest C 15 Santiago, Daniel 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 256 lb (116 kg) June 24, 1976 Saint Vincent C 25 Tsakalidis, Iakovos 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 285 lb (129 kg) June 10, 1979 Georgia (country)	Head coach Scott Skiles (Michigan State) Assistant coach(es) Jim Boylan (Marquette) Frank Johnson (Wake Forest) Phil Weber (North Carolina St.) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Jake Tsakalidis	Chris Dudley	Daniel Santiago
PF	Clifford Robinson	Tom Gugliotta
SF	Shawn Marion	Rodney Rogers
SG	Mario Elie	Vinny Del Negro		Penny Hardaway
PG	Jason Kidd	Tony Delk	Elliot Perry

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division	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
Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	12	26–15	18–23	17–7
Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	378	25	22–19	9–32	9–15
Golden State Warriors	17	65	.207	39	11–30	6–35	4–20

Western Conference
#	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	Houston Rockets	45	37	.549	13
10	Seattle SuperSonics	44	38	.537	14
11	Denver Nuggets	40	42	.488	18
12	Los Angeles Clippers	31	51	.378	27
13	Vancouver Grizzlies	23	59	.280	35
14	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

West First Round

(3) Sacramento Kings vs. (6) Phoenix Suns

NBC Costas Guokas

April 22 3:00 pm

Phoenix Suns 86, Sacramento Kings 83
Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 10–19, 28–22, 20-17
Pts: Shawn Marion 21 Rebs: Jake Tsakalidis 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 14		Pts: Chris Webber 27 Rebs: Chris Webber 15 Asts: Christie, Williams 5 each

ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California Attendance: 17,317 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Mike Mathis, Monty McCutchen

TNT Harlan, Thompson & Ainge

April 25 10:30 pm

Phoenix Suns 90, Sacramento Kings 116
Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 21–32, 20–32, 27–21
Pts: Tony Delk 14 Rebs: Tom Gugliotta 8 Asts: Jason Kidd 9		Pts: Predrag Stojaković 22 Rebs: Webber, Jackson 9 each Asts: Chris Webber 5

ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California Attendance: 17,317 Referees: Don Vaden, Bernie Fryer, Ted Bernhardt

NBC Costas Guokas

April 29 3:00 pm

Sacramento Kings 104, Phoenix Suns 96
Scoring by quarter: 19–36, 34–19, 22–18, 29-23
Pts: Chris Webber 23 Rebs: Vlade Divac 12 Asts: Doug Christie 4		Pts: Jason Kidd 19 Rebs: Shawn Marion 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 16

America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 19,023 Referees: Steve Javie, Derrick Stafford, Ronnie Nunn

TNT Harlan, Thompson & Ainge

May 2 10:30 pm

Sacramento Kings 89, Phoenix Suns 82
Pts: Predrag Stojaković 37 Rebs: Scot Pollard 13 Asts: Bobby Jackson 5		Pts: Clifford Robinson 24 Rebs: Jake Tsakalidis 12 Asts: Jason Kidd 14
Sacramento wins series, 3-1

America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona Attendance: 18,836 Referees: Scott Foster, Jack Nies, Hue Hollins

Last Playoff Meeting: 1981 Western Conference Semifinals (Kings won 4-3, then in Kansas City, Missouri)

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.
• Jason Kidd was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Kidd also finished 11th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
• 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.
• Rodney Rogers finished sixth in Sixth Man of the Year voting. Rogers won the award in 2000.
• Tony Delk finished tenth in Sixth Man of the Year voting.

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%	3FG%	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%	3FG%	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

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

References

• Standings on Basketball Reference