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. This season would also mark the first finals since the 1998–99 NBA season that the Lakers did not appear in, and the Spurs' first finals appearance since then.

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

2002–03 NBA changes

  • Golden State Warriors – slightly changed their uniforms added orange on the side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • Los Angeles Clippers – added new blue road alternate uniforms with white side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
  • Los Angeles Lakers – added new white home alternate uniforms with gold side panels to their jerseys and shorts played on Sunday nights and Christmas Day games only.
  • Portland Trail Blazers – added new logo and new uniforms, slightly changed their uniforms and also added new red road alternate uniforms.
  • New Orleans Hornets – relocation from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans, Louisiana, added new logo and new uniforms, adding yellow to their color scheme of teal, purple, and dark navy blue.
  • New York Knicks – slightly changed their uniforms, added "NYK" subway token on the alternate logo on the back of their jersey.
  • Sacramento Kings – changed their uniforms added side panels to their jerseys and shorts while the road jersey changed from black to purple with black side panels and "Sacramento" script wordmark on their jersey and white home jerseys with purple side panels and "Kings" script wordmark on their jersey.
  • San Antonio Spurs – added new logo and new uniforms, replacing the fiesta colors of turquoise, fuchsia and orange with black, and silver to their color scheme, slightly changed their uniforms, and moved into their new arena the SBC Center, (now as AT&T Center).

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)

Notes

  1. Entered the NBA as Nenê Hilário before changing his name in 2003.

References

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