2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 33rd season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Blazers acquired Antonio Daniels from the San Antonio Spurs,^[2][3] and signed free agent Jeff McInnis.^[4] Former Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis came out of his retirement, and returned to play for the team after a one-year absence.^[5][6] The Blazers got off to a mediocre 10–11 start, but then posted an 8-game winning streak in December, and held a 32–16 record at the All-Star break.^[7] However, they would slow down playing .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, finishing third in the Pacific Division with a solid 50–32 record,^[8] and making the playoffs for the 21st consecutive year and 26th year of the last 27.^[9]

2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coach	Maurice Cheeks
General manager	Bob Whitsitt
Owner(s)	Paul Allen
Arena	Rose Garden Arena
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Mavericks 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KGW Fox Sports Net Northwest
Radio	KXL
< 2001–02 2003–04 >

Rasheed Wallace averaged 18.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, while Bonzi Wells averaged 15.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and Derek Anderson provided the team with 13.9 points per game. In addition, Scottie Pippen contributed 10.8 points and 1.6 steals per game, and Dale Davis contributed 7.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Off the bench, Ruben Patterson provided with 8.3 points per game, while second-year forward Zach Randolph averaged 8.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and Damon Stoudamire played half of the season off the bench, averaging 6.9 points and 3.5 assists per game.^[10]

In the playoffs, the 6th-seeded Blazers battled the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference First Round, and fell four games to three.^[11][12][13] (The NBA had changed all playoff series to be best-of-seven; previously first-round series had been best-of-five). The Blazers remained the last team to force a Game 7 after trailing 3–0 in a best-of-seven series until the 2022–23 Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat, after the 1950–51 Knicks in the NBA Finals and the 1993–94 Nuggets in the Western Conference Semi-finals, though no team has come back to win an NBA playoff series after trailing 3–0.^[14][15][16]

The Blazers' 107–95 Game 7 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas would be the venerable franchise's last playoff game for six years, as the historic postseason streak ended in 2003–04 with a mediocre 41–41 record; two seasons followed in which they failed to win even 30 games. Following the season, Pippen re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the Chicago Bulls,^[17][18][19] while Daniels signed with the Seattle SuperSonics,^[20][21] and Sabonis retired for the second time.

For the season, the Blazers changed their primary logo,^[22] and slightly changed their uniforms.^[23][24] The primary logo only lasted for just one season, while the home jerseys lasted until 2017, and the road jerseys remained in use until 2005, where they replaced the team name "Blazers" with the city name "Portland".

Draft picks

Main article: 2002 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	21	Qyntel Woods	F	United States	NE Mississippi CC
2	43	Jason Jennings	C	United States	Arkansas State
2	51	Federico Kammerichs	F	Argentina	Ourense (Spain)

Roster

2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G/F 1 Anderson, Derek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky C 44 Boumtje-Boumtje, Ruben  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1978–05–20 Georgetown G 10 Daniels, Antonio 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1975–03–19 Bowling Green F/C 34 Davis, Dale 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1969–03–25 Clemson C 14 Dudley, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–02–22 Yale G 5 McInnis, Jeff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1974–10–22 North Carolina G/F 21 Patterson, Ruben 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1975–07–31 Cincinnati F 33 Pippen, Scottie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–09–25 Central Arkansas F/C 50 Randolph, Zach 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1981–07–16 Michigan State C 11 Sabonis, Arvydas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 279 lb (127 kg) 1964–12–19 Lithuania G 7 Smith, Charles  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1975–08–22 New Mexico G 3 Stoudamire, Damon 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 171 lb (78 kg) 1973–09–03 Arizona F/C 30 Wallace, Rasheed 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1974–09–17 North Carolina G/F 6 Wells, Bonzi 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1976–09–28 Ball State F 24 Woods, Qyntel 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 221 lb (100 kg) 1981–02–16 Northeast Mississippi CC

Head coach Maurice Cheeks Assistant coach(es) Herb Brown Caldwell Jones Jim Lynam Dan Panaggio Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Sacramento Kings	59	23	.720	–	35–6	24–17	17–7
x-Los Angeles Lakers	50	32	.610	9	31–10	19–22	15–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers	50	32	.610	9	27–14	23–18	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	44	38	.537	15	30–11	14–27	12–12
Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	19	25–16	15–26	11–13
Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	21	24–17	14–27	8–16
Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	32	16–25	11–30	6–18

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	60	22	.732	–
2	y-Sacramento Kings	59	23	.720	1
3	x-Dallas Mavericks	60	22	.732	–
4	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	51	31	.622	9
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	50	32	.610	10
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	50	32	.610	10
7	x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	13
8	x-Phoenix Suns	44	38	.537	16
9	Houston Rockets	43	39	.524	17
10	Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	20
11	Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	22
12	Memphis Grizzlies	28	54	.341	32
13	Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	33
14	Denver Nuggets	17	65	.207	43

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

2002-03 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NOH	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	0–3	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–0	–	2–2	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–2	2–0	1–3	3–1	4–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	1–3
Chicago	2–2	2–2	–	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3
Cleveland	0–4	0–4	1–3	–	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–4
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	–	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	–	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–4	1–1
Detroit	3–1	2–2	4–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	–	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1
Golden State	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1	–	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Houston	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2	3–1	–	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–3	1–1
Indiana	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	–	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	–	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–1
Memphis	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	–	2–0	2–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Miami	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	–	1–3	1–1	0–4	0–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–2	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	–	0–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	2–1
Minnesota	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	–	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–0
New Jersey	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	–	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	3–1
New Orleans	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	–	3–1	1–3	2–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–1
New York	3–1	0–4	1–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	–	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–2
Orlando	1–2	2–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	–	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–2
Philadelphia	1–3	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	–	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–1	4–0
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	–	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–3	–	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	–	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–0
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	–	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–3	–	2–0	2–2	1–1
Toronto	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	–	0–2	3–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	–	1–1
Washington	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	—

Game log

Playoffs

2003 playoff game log
First round: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 19 @ Dallas L 86–96 Rasheed Wallace (26) Davis, Wells (10) Scottie Pippen (5) American Airlines Center 20,336 0–1 2 April 23 @ Dallas L 99–103 Bonzi Wells (45) Dale Davis (15) Damon Stoudamire (5) American Airlines Center 20,356 0–2 3 April 25 Dallas L 103–115 Ruben Patterson (19) Zach Randolph (10) Bonzi Wells (6) Rose Garden 19,980 0–3 4 April 27 Dallas W 98–79 Zach Randolph (25) Zach Randolph (15) Damon Stoudamire (11) Rose Garden 19,980 1–3 5 April 30 @ Dallas W 103–99 Zach Randolph (22) Zach Randolph (9) Bonzi Wells (7) American Airlines Center 20,438 2–3 6 May 2 Dallas W 125–103 Zach Randolph (21) Zach Randolph (10) McInnis, Wallace (6) Rose Garden 20,602 3–3 7 May 4 @ Dallas L 95–107 Stoudamire, Wallace (17) Zach Randolph (10) Damon Stoudamire (9) American Airlines Center 20,281 3–4
2003 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dale Davis	78	78	29.3	.541		.633	7.2	1.2	.7	.9	7.4
Ruben Patterson	78	17	21.2	.492	.150	.627	3.4	1.3	.9	.4	8.3
Arvydas Sabonis	78	1	15.5	.476	.500	.787	4.3	1.8	.8	.6	6.1
Zach Randolph	77	11	16.9	.513	.000	.758	4.5	.5	.5	.2	8.4
Derek Anderson	76	76	33.6	.427	.350	.859	3.5	4.3	1.2	.2	13.9
Bonzi Wells	75	65	31.9	.441	.292	.722	5.3	3.3	1.6	.2	15.2
Jeff McInnis	75	1	17.5	.444	.171	.746	1.3	2.3	.3	.0	5.8
Rasheed Wallace	74	74	36.3	.471	.358	.735	7.4	2.1	.9	1.0	18.1
Antonio Daniels	67	2	13.0	.452	.305	.855	1.1	1.3	.5	.1	3.7
Scottie Pippen	64	58	29.9	.444	.286	.818	4.3	4.5	1.6	.4	10.8
Damon Stoudamire	59	27	22.3	.376	.386	.791	2.6	3.5	.7	.1	6.9
Qyntel Woods	53	0	6.3	.500	.333	.350	1.0	.2	.3	.0	2.4
Charles Smith	3	0	4.3	.250	.000	.750	.0	.3	.3	.0	1.7
Chris Dudley	3	0	3.7	.000			.7	.0	.0	.0	.0
Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje	2	0	2.5	.000			.5	.5	.5	.0	.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Bonzi Wells	7	7	38.3	.395	.300	.667	6.9	3.7	2.1	.4	19.0
Rasheed Wallace	7	7	37.1	.454	.400	.714	5.1	2.6	.6	.7	17.4
Damon Stoudamire	7	6	33.1	.456	.484	.952	5.1	5.6	.9	.3	15.3
Zach Randolph	7	4	29.3	.525		.892	8.7	1.6	.4	.3	13.9
Ruben Patterson	7	0	22.1	.481	.000	.690	3.7	1.6	.6	.1	10.0
Jeff McInnis	7	0	14.1	.346	.000	.750	1.7	2.7	.3	.1	3.0
Dale Davis	6	6	27.0	.583		.654	8.0	1.5	.8	.3	7.5
Antonio Daniels	6	1	16.3	.474	.600	.500	1.3	2.0	.2	.2	3.7
Arvydas Sabonis	6	1	14.3	.667		.800	4.0	.8	.7	.7	10.0
Scottie Pippen	4	1	18.8	.409	.333	1.000	2.8	3.3	.0	.0	5.8
Qyntel Woods	4	0	4.5	.333	.000	.500	.5	.0	.0	.0	1.8
Derek Anderson	2	2	11.0	.250	.000	.000	.5	.0	.0	.0	1.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Trail Blazers only.

Transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Qyntel Woods Via trade Antonio Daniels Via free agency Jeff McInnis

Players Lost Via trade Steve Kerr Via free agency

Player Transactions Citation:^[25]

References

1. 2002-03 Portland Trail Blazers
2. "Blazers Acquire Daniels from Spurs". United Press International. August 5, 2002. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
3. "Spurs Trade Daniels to Portland". CBC. August 6, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
4. "Blazers Sign G Jeff McInnis". United Press International. August 13, 2002. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
5. "Arvydas Sabonis Returns to Portland". United Press International. September 20, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
6. "WESTERN CONFERENCE: Team-by-Team Preview". The New York Times. October 28, 2002. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
7. "NBA Games Played on February 6, 2003". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
8. "2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
9. "Portland Trail Blazers". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
10. "2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
11. Smith, Sam (May 5, 2003). "Mavericks Wake Up, Win Series". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
12. Crowe, Jerry (May 5, 2003). "Mavericks Find Touch at the End -- Finally". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
13. "Dallas 107, Portland 95". United Press International. May 4, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
14. "Trail Blazers Continue Comeback, Force Game 7". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 3, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
15. "Portland 125, Dallas 103". United Press International. May 3, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
16. "Portland Tries to Complete Unprecedented Comeback". Sun Journal. May 4, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
17. "PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; Pippen and Bulls Back Together Again". The New York Times. Associated Press. July 21, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
18. "Pippen Back with the Bulls". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. July 20, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
19. Smith, Sam (July 20, 2003). "Pippen Not Perfect, But Fit Is". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
20. "Seattle Inks Guard to Multiyear Pact". ESPN. Associated Press. July 19, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
21. "Sonics Ink Daniels". United Press International. July 20, 2003. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
22. "Portland Trail Blazers Logo". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
23. "Portland Trail Blazers Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
24. "Portland Trail Blazers Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
25. "2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers Transactions". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.