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 with the tenth pick in the 2001 NBA draft, but later on traded him at midseason to the Phoenix Suns for Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk. The Celtics struggled with a 5–6 start to the season, but then won 12 of their next 14 games. They 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 per game and was selected along with Antoine Walker for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, which marked his first All-Star appearance. In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, then defeated the 2nd-seeded Detroit Pistons four games to one in the semifinals. However, they would lose in six games to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals after taking a 2–1 series lead.

Following the season, Kenny Anderson was traded along with Vitaly Potapenko to the Seattle SuperSonics, and Rogers signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets.

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