2002–03 Detroit Pistons season
NBA team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2002–03 NBA season was the Pistons' 62nd season as a franchise, the 55th in the National Basketball Association, and the 46th in the Detroit area.[1] During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Richard Hamilton from the Washington Wizards,[2][3][4] and signed free agent Chauncey Billups.[5][6] With the acquisitions of Hamilton and Billups, the Pistons got off to a solid start winning 12 of their first 16 games, and held a 32–15 record at the All-Star break.[7] However, the team suffered a 7-game losing streak between February and March, but managed to finish first place in the Eastern Conference with a 50–32 record, which tied the 1977 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record by a number one-seeded team in the history of the league.[8] The Pistons were the only team in the Eastern Conference with 50 or more wins this season.
2002–03 Detroit Pistons season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Division champions | |||
Head coach | Rick Carlisle | ||
General manager | Joe Dumars | ||
President | Joe Dumars | ||
Owner(s) | Bill Davidson | ||
Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills | ||
Results | |||
Record | 50–32 (.610) | ||
Place | Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern) | ||
Playoff finish | Eastern Conference finals (lost to Nets 0–4) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | |||
Radio | WDFN | ||
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Ben Wallace averaged 6.9 points, 15.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, and was voted to play in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career.[9] He also won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second year in a row,[10][11] and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, and also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting.[12] In addition, Hamilton led the team in scoring averaging 19.7 points per game, while Billups provided them with 16.2 points and 3.9 assists per game, Clifford Robinson contributed 12.2 points per game, and sixth man Corliss Williamson provided with 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game off the bench.[13]
In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pistons faced elimination trailing 3–1 to the 8th-seeded Orlando Magic,[14][15] but managed to win the next three games, thus the series.[16][17][18] In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the Pistons defeated Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, and were a serious title contender, reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1991.[19][20][21] Instead, they had their season ended with a sweep to the 2nd-seeded New Jersey Nets in four straight Eastern Conference Final games.[22][23][24] The Nets would reach the Finals for the second consecutive year, but would lose in six games to the San Antonio Spurs.[25][26][27]
Following the season, Pistons head coach Rick Carlisle was fired after just two seasons with the team and was replaced by Larry Brown, who had resigned from the 76ers' head coaching position on Memorial Day.[28][29] Carlisle would go on to coach the Indiana Pacers as he replaced Isiah Thomas, who was fired after failing to reach the second round for three consecutive seasons in the playoffs.[30] Also following the season, Robinson was traded to the Golden State Warriors,[31][32] while three-point specialist Jon Barry signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets,[33] and Michael Curry was dealt to the Toronto Raptors.