2002–03 NBA season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. This would be Michael Jordan's last season in the NBA.

2002–03 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 29, 2002 – April 16, 2003
April 19 – May 29, 2003 (Playoffs)
June 4 – 15, 2003 (Finals)
Number of teams29
TV partner(s)ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV
Draft
Top draft pickYao Ming
Picked byHouston Rockets
Regular season
Top seedSan Antonio Spurs
Season MVPTim Duncan (San Antonio)
Top scorerTracy McGrady (Orlando)
Playoffs
Eastern championsNew Jersey Nets
  Eastern runners-upDetroit Pistons
Western championsSan Antonio Spurs
  Western runners-upDallas Mavericks
Finals
ChampionsSan Antonio Spurs
  Runners-upNew Jersey Nets
Finals MVPTim Duncan (San Antonio)

Notable occurrences
Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 2001–02 coach 2002–03 coach
Denver Nuggets Mike Evans Jeff Bzdelik
Golden State Warriors Brian Winters Eric Musselman
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Atlanta Hawks Lon Kruger Terry Stotts
Cleveland Cavaliers John Lucas Keith Smart
Los Angeles Clippers Alvin Gentry Dennis Johnson
Memphis Grizzlies Sidney Lowe Hubie Brown
  • The Hornets relocate from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • In the Hornets first game in New Orleans retired Pete Maravich's jersey number (although they never played with the team and contributed to basketball in New Orleans) on opening night against their former tenants the Utah Jazz.
  • The San Antonio Spurs played their first game at the SBC Center (now the AT&T Center).
  • The Houston Rockets played their final game at the Compaq Center (formerly The Summit).
  • The 2003 NBA All-Star Game was held at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. The West won 155–145 in double-overtime, the longest All-Star game in NBA history. Minnesota's Kevin Garnett took the game's MVP honors. It was also the last time an Eastern Conference city hosted an All-Star Game (until 2012), and the last time a rookie played (until 2011) and started an All-Star game, with Yao Ming making his All-Star debut.
  • Michael Jordan announces his third and final retirement. He plays his last game on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia.
  • The NBA on ABC begins (replacing NBA on NBC) again after a 29-year hiatus when the NBA signs new television deals with TNT and the consortium of ABC and ESPN. This agreement significantly decreased the number of games on network television, including the playoffs, in which very few games are shown on ABC, with the exception of the NBA Finals, which are shown entirely on ABC. Also, both conference finals are shown live on cable for the first time.
  • For the first time in NBA history, two former ABA teams contest each other in the NBA Finals, the New Jersey Nets versus the San Antonio Spurs.
  • The NBA changes the first-round format from a best-of-five-game series to a best-of-seven-game series for the 2003 NBA playoffs.
  • A new low in television ratings for the NBA Finals is reached, replacing the 1981 series as the least watched Finals (later surpassed by the 2007 Finals).
  • On January 7, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 45 points against the Seattle SuperSonics. Kobe made nine consecutive three-pointers and finished with 12 overall, a new NBA record for most threes in a game, later tied by Donyell Marshall and broken by Stephen Curry (with 13 threes) and later fellow Splash Brother, Klay Thompson (with 14 threes).
  • The Los Angeles Lakers debuted their white and gold alternate jerseys in a loss against the Sacramento Kings on December 25, 2002, at Staples Center. The jerseys were designed as a tribute to long-time announcer Chick Hearn, who died on August 5 from a head injury caused by a fall. The Lakers also sport a black patch in his honor.
  • Lenny Wilkens becomes the all-time leader in losses, surpassing Bill Fitch.
  • Reebok became the official outfitter for the NBA. Although fellow outfitter Nike still under their contracts. Reebok will remained as the outfitter of the NBA until they merged with Adidas became the official outfitter in 2006.
  • David Robinson announced his retirement. He would eventually go on to win the championship with the Spurs.
  • The elimination of Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs marks the end of the 18-year Karl Malone–John Stockton tandem. Stockton would go on to retire, while Malone would play with the Lakers next season before retiring in 2004.
  • The NBA has mandated installation of LED light strips on both the backboard and the scorer's table that illuminate when time expires, to assist with any potential review.
  • The Dallas Mavericks started the season 14–0 one shy to tied the best start of the season set by the 1948–49 Washington Capitols and the 1993–94 Houston Rockets they started the season 15–0. The record was broken by the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors they started the season 24–0 during the 28–game winning–streak they won the last four games in the 2014–15 season.
  • The Spurs and the Mavericks tied for the best record at 60–22. The Spurs won a tie–breaker for the best record due to better Conference records.
  • The NBA introduces the Hardwood Classic nights for team and player milestones, team anniversary, and championship team anniversary which included the (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Seattle SuperSonics, Washington Wizards, and other teams). In Game 5 of the 2003 Finals series, the Nets wore a throwback jersey from the 1976 team marked the only time in NBA Finals history wear a throwback jersey.

Standings

By division

By conference

Notes

  • z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
  • c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
  • y – Clinched division title
  • x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home-court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular-season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

  First Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals NBA Finals
                                     
E1 Detroit* 4  
E8 Orlando 3  
  E1 Detroit* 4  
  E4 Philadelphia 2  
E4 Philadelphia 4
E5 New Orleans 2  
  E1 Detroit* 0  
Eastern Conference
  E2 New Jersey* 4  
E3 Indiana 2  
E6 Boston 4  
  E6 Boston 0
  E2 New Jersey* 4  
E2 New Jersey* 4
E7 Milwaukee 2  
  E2 New Jersey* 2
  W1 San Antonio* 4
W1 San Antonio* 4  
W8 Phoenix 2  
  W1 San Antonio* 4
  W5 LA Lakers 2  
W4 Minnesota 2
W5 LA Lakers 4  
  W1 San Antonio* 4
Western Conference
  W3 Dallas 2  
W3 Dallas 4  
W6 Portland 3  
  W3 Dallas 4
  W2 Sacramento* 3  
W2 Sacramento* 4
W7 Utah 1  


* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameTracy McGradyOrlando Magic32.1
Rebounds per gameBen WallaceDetroit Pistons15.5
Assists per gameJason KiddNew Jersey Nets9.0
Steals per gameAllen IversonPhiladelphia 76ers2.74
Blocks per gameTheo RatliffAtlanta Hawks3.23
FG%Eddy CurryChicago Bulls.585
FT%Allan HoustonNew York Knicks.919
3FG%Bruce BowenSan Antonio Spurs.441

Awards

Yearly awards

Players of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference
October – November Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic) (1/2) Michael Finley (Dallas Mavericks) (1/1)
Steve Nash (Dallas Mavericks) (1/1)
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks) (1/1)
December Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) (1/1) Chris Webber (Sacramento Kings) (1/1)
January Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers) (1/1) Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
February Jamal Mashburn (New Orleans Hornets) (1/1) Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (1/2)
March Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic) (2/2) Shaquille O'Neal (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
April Jamaal Magloire (New Orleans Hornets) (1/1) Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (2/2)

Rookies of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference
October – November Caron Butler (Miami Heat) (1/4) Drew Gooden (Memphis Grizzlies) (1/1)
December Jay Williams (Chicago Bulls) (1/1) Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) (1/2)
January Caron Butler (Miami Heat) (2/4) Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) (1/2)
February Caron Butler (Miami Heat) (3/4) Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) (2/2)
March Caron Butler (Miami Heat) (4/4) Manu Ginóbili (San Antonio Spurs) (1/1)
April Carlos Boozer (Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/1) Amar'e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) (2/2)

Coaches of the month

The following coaches were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month.

Month Eastern Conference Western Conference
October – November Isiah Thomas (Indiana Pacers) (1/1) Don Nelson (Dallas Mavericks) (1/1)
December Byron Scott (New Jersey Nets) (1/1) Frank Johnson (Phoenix Suns) (1/1)
January George Karl (Milwaukee Bucks) (1/1) Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) (1/2)
February Larry Brown (Philadelphia 76ers) (1/2) Flip Saunders (Minnesota Timberwolves) (1/1)
March Larry Brown (Philadelphia 76ers) (2/2) Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) (2/2)
April Paul Silas (New Orleans Hornets) (1/1) Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
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gollark: I'm going to overhaul my server setup SOON™ (note: not soon), so there may be slight downtimes.

References
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