As we enter the 2001-02 season, I'm making a small change to how I present Rewritten Rings. In previous seasons, I covered the entire season in one post.
As this alternate NBA history has grown, however, there are simply too many storylines, unexpected results, and historical moments to give each one the attention it deserves in a single article.
From this season forward, I'll be breaking the season into several posts, allowing us to take a closer look at the offseason, regular season, playoffs, and ultimately the championship.
I think this format will make it easier to follow the biggest storylines while giving me more room to share my thoughts on the results and how they are changing the history of this NBA universe.
The end of the 2001 season saw us crown our 6th back-to-back champion. Now the question everyone following Rewritten Rings wants answered is simple: Could these Boston Celtics become our first 3-peat champion?
After everything we have seen in the first 18 seasons of this alternate NBA, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. Six teams have gone back-to-back, but every one of them has fallen short of winning that third straight championship. Could Boston finally be the team that breaks the curse?
Welcome to Rewritten Rings, an alternate NBA history created through NBA 2K26's NBA Eras mode. The journey begins with the 1983-84 season, and every season builds on the one before it, creating a completely different NBA history along the way.
Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant do not enter the league until the mid-2000s, fundamentally changing the landscape of the NBA before their arrival.
There are no predetermined outcomes or custom rules designed to force specific results. The simulation determines what happens, while I document the seasons, follow the careers of the players and franchises, and analyze the unexpected history that unfolds. And after nearly two decades of watching this universe develop, some of the results still manage to surprise me.
A Changing of the Guard
Welcome to the 2001-02 season. As always, we start with the offseason, and this one was a big one. We had a number of legendary players retire, including Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley.
All but one made the Hall of Fame, despite having more impressive resumes here than they did in real life. With that many legends leaving at the same time, it really feels like we are watching one generation of this alternate NBA come to an end.
One of the retirements that immediately caught my attention was John Stockton. He finished his career as a 12-time All-Star, 2-time Finals MVP, and 2-time champion, but just like his partner in Washington, Clyde Drexler, 2K decided against Hall of Fame induction.
That one surprised me. In real life, Stockton was a 10-time All-Star and never won a championship. In this universe, he has two titles and two Finals MVPs.
I understand that Hall of Fame decisions are made by the game, but looking at that résumé, I have a hard time understanding how Stockton didn't get in.
Then we have Patrick Ewing, and this is where the Hall of Fame decisions get even more interesting. Ewing was inducted as a 10-time All-Star, but his career in our universe was very different from Stockton's.
He never could get past the Semis and spent much of his career either out of the playoffs or being eliminated in the first round. His last trip to the Semis came all the way back in 1988.
So I'm curious what you think: did 2K get the Stockton and Ewing Hall of Fame decisions backwards? Let me know what you think in the comments.
As for the others, Thomas never won a ring in this world. In fact, he only made it to the Finals once with the Portland Blazers. Still, he retires as a 14-time All-Star and Hall of Famer, and gets his jersey retired by both the Pistons and Blazers. That's one of the interesting things about this universe: players can have completely different legacies than the ones we know from real NBA history.
Karl Malone and Charles Barkley both retire as champions. Malone won twice with the Rockets in the early '90s, while Barkley won once in 1987 with Dr. J and Moses Malone in Philadelphia.
They both go into the Hall of Fame and get their numbers retired by the franchises they won titles with. In fact, all five of these legends get their numbers retired, with Ewing getting his retired by the Bulls and Stockton getting his retired by the Bullets/Wizards.
Another notable retirement is Terry Porter, who helped Hakeem Olajuwon win two titles with the Clippers. Porter also retires as a Finals MVP and a multiple-time All-Star.
Looking at how much the league has changed since we started this timeline, it is hard not to wonder which current players will eventually become the next generation of legends — and which future stars will completely rewrite the history we thought we knew.
A New Generation Arrives
As for the draft lottery, the Hawks end up with the No. 1 pick, followed by the Wizards and then the Clippers. Gilbert Arenas goes No. 1; in real life, he was a second-round pick.
That's already one of the things I love about doing this simulation. Arenas was never supposed to be the first pick in the real 2001 draft, but in this universe, Atlanta decides he's the player to build around.
Pau Gasol goes No. 2. Now here's a player I'm particularly interested in watching. Can Gasol finally get the Wizards into the playoffs? They haven't been there since their days as the Bullets, so this feels like a huge opportunity for the franchise.
Tony Parker goes No. 3 to the Clippers, and considering Terry Porter just retired, the timing couldn't be more interesting. Can Parker become the replacement for one of the biggest stars in Clippers history?
Samuel Dalembert goes No. 4 to the Pacers, while Raul Lopez, who only played two seasons in the NBA in real life, goes No. 5 to the Warriors. Those were your top five picks.
Big Moves Before the Season
Next up was free agency, and Vlade Divac was the biggest name to move. After joining Tim Duncan and the Lakers for a few seasons, he is now headed to the Valley of the Sun.
The Lakers wasted little time finding a replacement, as Shawn Bradley returns to Los Angeles after helping the Jazz reach the Conference Finals. Bradley now steps in at center for Divac, which could have a major impact on the Lakers after their disappointing run last season.
Derrick McKey leaves Portland after spending most of his career there, heading to the East Coast to join the New Jersey Nets. Meanwhile, 5-time MVP Len Bias leaves Golden State for Portland.
At 37 years old, Bias will now replace McKey in the lineup. This is one of those moves that makes me wonder how much the veteran Bias has left in the tank.
He's already accomplished more than anyone in this universe, but can he help Portland make another run this late in his career? Thomas was 36, when he helped them get to the Finals.
Longtime King Mitch Richmond, now 35 years old, finds a new home alongside Gary Payton in Dallas. Isaiah Rider leaves the team that drafted him, the Bucks, for California and the Warriors.
There were a lot of veteran names moving around this offseason, and it feels like several teams are trying to make one more push while they still have the opportunity.
Before the season started, we had a few key trades to announce. Needing a new center, the Jazz traded for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. After losing Richmond, the Kings gave up another longtime star, LaPhonso Ellis, as they acquired Michael Redd and Antoine Walker. That's a pretty significant reshuffling for Sacramento.
Needing an upgrade at the point, the Nets traded for William Avery, sending Oliver Miller to the Kings. Finally, Rafer Alston and Chris Andersen are headed to Cleveland in exchange for Jason Williams and Mehmet Okur.
With the offseason complete, the league was ready for another season. Boston were the defending champions, and had a chance to accomplish something no team had done in our timeline.
But looking around the league, there were plenty of teams with their own questions to answer. Could the Celtics finally break the 3-peat barrier, or would another team once again spoil it?
Continue to Chapter 2: The Regular Season
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