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 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 provided the team with 22.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Pierce and Walker were both selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, which was Pierce’s first All-Star appearance.