The 2001 WNBA season was the fourth season for the Detroit Shock.
Offseason
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
| 1 | 6 | Deanna Nolan (G/F) |  United States |
Georgia |
| 2 | 22 | Jae Kingi (G) |  Australia |
Australia |
| 3 | 38 | Svetlana Volnaya (G/F) |  Russia |
Virginia |
| 4 | 54 | Kelly Santos (F) |  Brazil |
Brazil |
Regular season
Season standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Rockers x | 22 | 10 | .688 | 15–6 | – |
| New York Liberty x | 21 | 11 | .656 | 13–8 | 1.0 |
| Miami Sol x | 20 | 12 | .625 | 14–7 | 2.0 |
| Charlotte Sting x | 18 | 14 | .563 | 15–6 | 4.0 |
| Orlando Miracle o | 13 | 19 | .406 | 9–12 | 9.0 |
| Indiana Fever o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 7–14 | 12.0 |
| Detroit Shock o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 7–14 | 12.0 |
| Washington Mystics o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 4–17 | 12.0 |
Season schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| June 2 | Houston | 73-74 | Loss | 0-1 |
| June 5 | Orlando | 71-92 | Loss | 0-2 |
| June 7 | @ Houston | 66-87 | Loss | 0-3 |
| June 12 | @ Miami | 68-67 | Win | 1-3 |
| June 14 | Washington | 80-65 | Win | 2-3 |
| June 16 | @ Charlotte | 72-69 | Win | 3-3 |
| June 17 | Minnesota | 63-71 | Loss | 3-4 |
| June 22 | @ Indiana | 56-77 | Loss | 3-5 |
| June 23 | Indiana | 70-74 | Loss | 3-6 |
| June 26 | Los Angeles | 89-98 | Loss | 3-7 |
| June 27 | @ Charlotte | 50-74 | Loss | 3-8 |
| June 29 | Phoenix | 75-71 | Win | 4-8 |
| July 2 | @ New York | 60-66 | Loss | 4-9 |
| July 6 | Charlotte | 50-67 | Loss | 4-10 |
| July 8 | @ Orlando | 67-73 | Loss | 4-11 |
| July 11 | @ Washington | 64-52 | Win | 5-11 |
| July 13 | Miami | 55-56 | Loss | 5-12 |
| July 14 | @ Miami | 51-66 | Loss | 5-13 |
| July 18 | New York | 67-80 | Loss | 5-14 |
| July 21 | @ Sacramento | 52-66 | Loss | 5-15 |
| July 22 | @ Portland | 80-77 | Win | 6-15 |
| July 24 | @ Seattle | 69-74 | Loss | 6-16 |
| July 26 | @ Phoenix | 62-63 | Loss | 6-17 |
| July 28 | Cleveland | 50-57 | Loss | 6-18 |
| July 29 | Orlando | 64-62 | Win | 7-18 |
| August 1 | @ New York | 63-66 | Loss | 7-19 |
| August 4 | Portland | 70-65 | Win | 8-19 |
| August 7 | Utah | 69-76 | Loss | 8-20 |
| August 8 | @ Cleveland | 66-73 | Loss | 8-21 |
| August 10 | Washington | 69-63 | Win | 9-21 |
| August 12 | @ Indiana | 66-83 | Loss | 9-22 |
| August 14 | Cleveland | 76-65 | Win | 10-22 |
Player stats
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Astou Ndiaye-Diatta | 32 | 171 | 49 | 22 | 28 | 376 |
| Elena Tornikidou | 32 | 77 | 56 | 19 | 14 | 307 |
| Edwina Brown | 32 | 101 | 87 | 33 | 7 | 237 |
| Wendy Palmer | 22 | 154 | 23 | 23 | 4 | 233 |
| Dominique Canty | 32 | 83 | 70 | 31 | 1 | 197 |
| Deanna Nolan | 27 | 53 | 30 | 17 | 6 | 192 |
| Jae Kingi-Cross | 29 | 63 | 74 | 31 | 8 | 169 |
| Barbara Farris | 31 | 109 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 129 |
| Claudia Neves | 22 | 29 | 34 | 21 | 0 | 95 |
| Carla Boyd | 21 | 26 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 75 |
| Kelly Santos | 14 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 52 |
| Rachael Sporn | 23 | 52 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 41 |