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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. It was Michael Jordan's last season in the NBA. It marked the first finals since the 1998–99 NBA season in which the Lakers did not appear, as well as the Spurs' first finals appearance since then.
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| 2002–03 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | October 29, 2002 – April 16, 2003 April 19 – May 29, 2003 (Playoffs) June 4 – 15, 2003 (Finals) |
| Number of teams | 29 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Yao Ming |
| Picked by | Houston Rockets |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | San Antonio Spurs |
| Season MVP | Tim Duncan (San Antonio) |
| Top scorer | Tracy McGrady (Orlando) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | New Jersey Nets |
| Eastern runners-up | Detroit Pistons |
| Western champions | San Antonio Spurs |
| Western runners-up | Dallas Mavericks |
| Finals | |
| Champions | San Antonio Spurs |
| Runners-up | New Jersey Nets |
| Finals MVP | Tim Duncan (San Antonio) |
| 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. At the time, the New Orleans Hornets were a continuation of the Charlotte Hornets franchise, but this was changed in 2014 after the second incarnation of the Hornets (originally the Charlotte Bobcats starting in 2004) purchased the records and history of the Hornets franchise from 1988 to 2002. As such, this was the first of two seasons in which the Charlotte NBA franchise "suspended operations" while the New Orleans NBA franchise was retconned as an expansion team.
- At halftime of the Hornets' first game in New Orleans, the team retired Pete Maravich's jersey number against their former tenants, the Utah Jazz. Though Maravich never played for the Hornets, he had been a star player with LSU Tigers and New Orleans Jazz.
- The San Antonio Spurs played their first game at the SBC Center, (now the Frost Bank Center).
- The Houston Rockets played their final season at the Compaq Center (formerly as The Summit, now the Lakewood Church Central Campus).
- 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 Zach LaVine and later fellow Splash Brother, Klay Thompson (with 14 threes).
- The Los Angeles Lakers debuted their white and gold alternate home jerseys in a loss against the Sacramento Kings on Christmas Day, 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 the late Bill Fitch.
- Reebok became the official outfitter for the NBA. They would provide uniforms for all but ten teams; the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards remain under Nike until the following season, when Reebok took over. Reebok remained the league's uniform provider until its merger with Adidas 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 that they started when 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 that marked the only time in NBA Finals history wear a throwback jersey.
- 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 Frost Bank Center).
Atlantic Division 
Central Division 
Midwest Division 
Pacific Division
By division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-New Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | – | 33–8 | 16–25 | 16–8 |
| x-Philadelphia 76ers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 1 | 25–16 | 23–18 | 17–7 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 44 | 38 | .537 | 5 | 25–16 | 19–22 | 13–12 |
| x-Orlando Magic | 42 | 40 | .512 | 7 | 26–15 | 16–25 | 14–11 |
| Washington Wizards | 37 | 45 | .451 | 12 | 23–18 | 14–27 | 11–13 |
| New York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 12 | 24–17 | 13–28 | 9–15 |
| Miami Heat | 25 | 57 | .305 | 24 | 16–25 | 9–32 | 5–19 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Detroit Pistons | 50 | 32 | .610 | – | 30–11 | 20–21 | 19–9 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2 | 32–9 | 16–25 | 19–9 |
| x-New Orleans Hornets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 3 | 29–12 | 18–23 | 17–11 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 8 | 25–16 | 17–24 | 16–12 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 35 | 47 | .427 | 15 | 26–15 | 9–32 | 14–14 |
| Chicago Bulls | 30 | 52 | .366 | 20 | 27–14 | 3–38 | 12–16 |
| Toronto Raptors | 24 | 58 | .293 | 26 | 15–26 | 9–32 | 10–18 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 33 | 14–27 | 3–38 | 5–23 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 33–8 | 27–14 | 17–7 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 33–8 | 27–14 | 18–6 |
| x-Minnesota Timberwolves | 51 | 31 | .622 | 9 | 33–8 | 18–23 | 15–9 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 47 | 35 | .573 | 13 | 29–12 | 18–23 | 15–9 |
| Houston Rockets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 17 | 28–13 | 15–26 | 11–13 |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32 | 20–21 | 8–33 | 5–17 |
| Denver Nuggets | 17 | 65 | .207 | 43 | 13–28 | 4–37 | 3–21 |
| 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 |
By conference
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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
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
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Tracy McGrady | Orlando Magic | 32.1 |
| Rebounds per game | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons | 15.5 |
| Assists per game | Jason Kidd | New Jersey Nets | 9.0 |
| Steals per game | Allen Iverson | Philadelphia 76ers | 2.74 |
| Blocks per game | Theo Ratliff | Atlanta Hawks | 3.23 |
| FG% | Eddy Curry | Chicago Bulls | .585 |
| FT% | Allan Houston | New York Knicks | .919 |
| 3FG% | Bruce Bowen | San Antonio Spurs | .441 |
Yearly awards
- Most Valuable Player: Tim Duncan,[1] San Antonio Spurs
- Rookie of the Year: Amar'e Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
- Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons
- Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jackson, Sacramento Kings
- Most Improved Player: Gilbert Arenas, Golden State Warriors
- Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs
- Executive of the Year: Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons
- Sportsmanship Award: Ray Allen, Seattle SuperSonics
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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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