2002–03 NBA season
The NBA season 2002/ 03 was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association. At the regular season total of 29 teams took part. Each team completed 82 games. The eight best each conference qualified for the NBA playoffs.
The San Antonio Spurs defeated in the NBA Finals, the New Jersey Nets 4-2 and were the second time after 1998/99 NBA champions.
Season notes
- The New Orleans Hornets moved from Charlotte ( North Carolina ) to New Orleans has to offer. Charlotte, however, was not present for only two years in the NBA, as the Charlotte Bobcats were established as a new team in 2004 and went into the league. The Hornets played their first game at the New Orleans Arena. In response to the change of the team, the NBA banned Games of the League in North Carolina broadcast.
- The San Antonio Spurs were playing their first game at the SBC Center, the AT & T Center is now called.
- The NBA All- Star Game was played at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. The West defeated the East with 155:145 after double overtime in the longest All-Star Game league history. Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves was named to the All- Star Game MVP.
- Michael Jordan announced his third and final retirement. He played his last game on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia.
- The NBA was broadcast after 29 - year break due to new contracts for the TV rights to TNT, ABC and ESPN on ABC again. This agreement reduced the number of shown on American television NBA games considerably. Also from the play-offs only a few games were broadcast on ABC. An exception to the NBA Finals, which were shown completely by ABC. Also, both Conference Finals were seen for the first time live on cable television.
- A new video evidence rule came into force.
End figures
W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = percentage share of victory, P = behind Division leaders
In parentheses are the rankings in the seedings of the respective Conference playoffs are listed.
Leading the Player Statistics
Play-offs
- The NBA changed the first-round format in the play- offs of best- of-five to best- of-seven. Since this season so all the play-off rounds of best- of-seven series.
NBA Finals 2003
- Tim Duncan of the Spurs was selected to the NBA Finals MVP.
- In the decisive sixth game Duncan came nearly approached an extremely rare quadruple- double. He made 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and 8 blocks. He would become the first player of NBA history, who would have achieved this in an NBA finals game.
- For the first time in the history of the NBA were compared in the Finals with the New Jersey Nets and the San Antonio Spurs two former ABA teams.