[1] After missing the playoffs the previous season, the Pistons selected Rodney White from the University of Charlotte with the ninth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft.
[2][3][4][5][6] During the off-season, the team acquired Clifford Robinson from the Phoenix Suns,[7][8][9][10] acquired three-point specialist Jon Barry from the Sacramento Kings,[11][12][13] and hired Rick Carlisle as their new head coach.
[14][15][16][17] The Pistons won 14 of their first 20 games, but then suffered a 7-game losing streak in December as part of a 5–14 stretch to fall to 19–20.
Unlike previous seasons during the 1990s, the Pistons would rebound from the tough stretch to win 15 of their next 18 games.
After a 26–21 record at the All-Star break,[18] the Pistons won 24 of their final 35 games, winning the Central Division with a 50–32 record, the franchise's first Division title since the 1990, thanks to a 123–89 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on the final day of the regular season.