The 2001–02 NBA season was the 56th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. This season saw the Celtics select future All-Star Joe Johnson from the University of Arkansas with the tenth pick in the 2001 NBA draft, but later on traded him along with Randy Brown at midseason to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk. The team also signed free agent Erick Strickland during the off-season. The Celtics struggled with a 5–6 start to the season, but then won 12 of their next 14 games, and held a 28–21 record at the All-Star break. They later on posted a 7-game winning streak in March, and won eight of their final nine games finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a 49–33 record, making their first playoff appearance since 1995.
Paul Pierce averaged 26.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Antoine Walker averaged 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Kenny Anderson provided the team with 9.6 points, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game. In addition, Strickland contributed 7.7 points per game off the bench, and Tony Battie provided with 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Pierce and Walker were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, which was Pierce's first All-Star appearance.
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, advancing to the second round for the first time since 1992. In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, they lost Game 1 to the 2nd-seeded Detroit Pistons, 96–84 on the road, but managed to defeat them four games to one, reaching the conference finals also for the first time since 1988. In the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics took a 2–1 series lead over the top-seeded New Jersey Nets. However, they would lose to the Nets in six games. The Nets would go on to reach the NBA Finals for the first time, but would lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games.
Following the season, Anderson was traded along with Vitaly Potapenko to the Seattle SuperSonics, while Rogers signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets, Strickland signed with the Indiana Pacers, and Mark Blount signed with the Denver Nuggets.
Draft picks
Roster
Roster Notes
Rookie point guard Omar Cook also holds American citizenship, but he represents Montenegro in international play. He was signed by the Celtics on April 16, but never played for the team. Small forward Roshown McLeod missed the entire season with a nerve ailment in his lower left leg, and never played for the Celtics.
Regular season
Standings
Record vs. opponents
Game log
|- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 1 || Tue. Oct. 30 || @ Cleveland Cavaliers || 108–89 || Gund Arena ||1-0 |- align="center" bgcolor="edbebf" | 2 || Wed. Oct. 31 || New Jersey Nets || 92-95 || FleetCenter ||1-1 |-
|- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 3 || Fri. Nov. 2 || Chicago Bulls || 96-82 || FleetCenter || 2-1 |- align="center" bgcolor="edbebf" | 4 || Sat. Nov. 3 || @ Milwaukee Bucks || 99-105 || Bradley Center || 2-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 5 || Wed. Nov. 7 || Washington Wizards || 104-95 || FleetCenter || 3-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 6 || Fri. Nov. 9 || Seattle SuperSonics || 104-94 || FleetCenter || 4-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 7 || Wed. Nov. 14 || Indiana Pacers || 101-93 || FleetCenter ||5-2 |- align="center" bgcolor="edbebf" | 8 || Sat. Nov. 17 || @ Atlanta Hawks || 103-112 || Philips Arena || 5-3 |- align="center" bgcolor="edbebf" | 9 || Wed. Nov. 21 || Atlanta Hawks || 85-92 || FleetCenter || 5-4 |- align="center" bgcolor="edbebf" | 10 || Fri. Nov. 23 || Toronto Raptors || 89-91 || FleetCenter || 5-5 |- align="center" bgcolor="edbebf" | 11 || Sat. Nov. 24 || @ Washington Wizards || 84-88 (OT) || MCI Center || 5-6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 12 || Tue. Nov. 27 || @ Miami Heat || 84-83 || American Airlines Arena || 6-6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" | 13 || Thu. Nov. 29 || @ Orlando Magic || 99-89 || TD Waterhouse Centre || 7-6 |-