2001-02 Regular Season Record Win

Lore & Background

With the addition of Bibby, and despite Chris Webber missing the first 20 games of the regular season due to a preseason ankle injury, the Kings won 17 of their first 22 games, then posted a 12-game winning streak between December and January, as the team held a 37–12 record at the All-Star break. The Kings won eleven straight games near the end of the regular season, finishing in first place in the Pacific Division with a 61–21 record (.744 in winning percentage), the best record in the league, and earning the first seed in the Western Conference; the team won their first Division title since the 1978–79 season, back when the team was known as the Kansas City Kings.

In Their Own Story

The air inside ARCO Arena was thick with anticipation as the clock ticked down on the final game of the season. The scoreboard read Kings 98, Opponent 96, but the real story was the number flashing above the rim: 61 wins. Peja Stojaković stood at the free-throw line, the crowd's roar a physical weight pressing against his shoulders. He sank both shots, sealing not just a victory, but a legacy. In that moment, the hardwood seemed to glow with the promise of a dynasty finally taking flight.

Reader's Guide

Webber averaged 24.5 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.4 blocks per game in 54 games, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, while Peja Stojaković averaged 21.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, and led the Kings with 129 three-point field goals, and Bibby provided the team with 13.7 points and 5.0 assists per game. In addition, Doug Christie averaged 12.0 points and 2.0 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Vlade Divac provided the team with 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Off the bench, sixth man Bobby Jackson contributed 11.1 points per game, while second-year forward Hedo Türkoğlu averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, Scot Pollard provided with 6.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, and Lawrence Funderburke contributed 4.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Did You Know?

• During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Webber and Stojaković were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, as members of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was
• Stojaković also won the NBA Three-Point Shootout, while Türkoğlu was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team, and rookie small forward, and first-round draft pick Gerald Wallace par
• Webber finished in seventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Jackson finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind former Kings forward Corliss Williamson of the Detroit Pistons, and head coa