[1] The Celtics had the eleventh overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected Jérôme Moïso from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Prior to the start of the season, the Celtics were nearly hit with tragedy when Paul Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck and back, and had a bottle smashed over his head, and was attacked by three men at the Buzz Club, a late night dance club in the Boston Theater District on September 25, 2000; Tony Battie, Pierce's Celtic teammate, along with Battie's brother, saved him by rushing him to a nearby hospital, where Pierce had to undergo lung surgery to repair the damage.
[21][22] With a 12–22 start to the season, a frustrated Rick Pitino resigned as head coach after three years with the Celtics.
[23][24][25][26] Under replacement Jim O'Brien, they played around .500 for the remainder of the season posting a six-game winning streak between January and February, but later lost six of their final eight games, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 36–46 record, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.
[28] Pierce averaged 25.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and finished in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting,[29][30][31][32] while Antoine Walker averaged 23.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and led the league with 221 three-point field goals.