2002–03_Philadelphia_76ers_season

2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season

2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season

NBA professional basketball team season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 76ers 54th season in the National Basketball Association, and 40th season in Philadelphia.[1] During the off-season, the Sixers acquired Keith Van Horn and former 76ers center Todd MacCulloch from the New Jersey Nets; Van Horn was originally drafted by the Sixers as the second pick in the 1997 NBA draft.[2][3][4][5] The Sixers got off to a fast start winning 15 of their first 19 games, but would then lose 14 of their next 18 games, holding a 25–24 record at the All-Star break.[6] In December, the team acquired Kenny Thomas from the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade.[7][8] The Sixers improved on their last season posting a nine-game winning streak at midseason, finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a 48–34 record, with the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference.[9]

Quick Facts Philadelphia 76ers season, Head coach ...

For the first time in his career, Allen Iverson played a full 82-game season, averaging 27.6 points, 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game (he would have another in 2007–08 while with the Denver Nuggets). He was named to the All-NBA Second Team, was selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game,[10] and also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting.[11][12] In addition, Van Horn averaged 15.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Eric Snow provided the team with 12.9 points, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, Derrick Coleman provided with 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and Aaron McKie contributed 9.0 points and 1.6 steals per game.[13]

The Sixers defeated the New Orleans Hornets led by Baron Davis in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs,[14][15][16] but they could not go further in the next round, as they lost to the Detroit Pistons in six games in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals.[17][18][19] Following the season, Van Horn was traded to the New York Knicks.[20][21]

This season was head coach Larry Brown's last in Philadelphia as he resigned on Memorial Day, 2003.[22][23][24] Brown would later go on to coach the Detroit Pistons,[25] where he helped the team win the 2004 NBA Championship. He led the team to another Finals appearance in 2005. The Sixers wouldn't advance past the First Round again until 2012 when they defeated the Bulls in 6 games.

Offseason

In the 2002 NBA draft, the 76ers drafted Czech swingman Jiří Welsch and forward-center Sam Clancy (Clancy would not play in any games in the NBA). The Sixers also made three trades on draft day. Their first trade was with the Golden State Warriors. They traded their first round pick, Jiří Welsch, for a 2004 2nd round draft pick and a 2005 1st round draft pick. In their second trade, they traded Speedy Claxton to the San Antonio Spurs for Mark Bryant, Randy Holcomb, and John Salmons. Their third and final trade of the night was with the Atlanta Hawks. They traded a 2004 2nd round draft pick and a 2006 2nd round draft pick to the Hawks for Efthimios Rentzias.

On July 25, the 76ers signed Greg Buckner and Monty Williams.

On August 6, the Sixers traded Dikembe Mutombo to the New Jersey Nets for Todd MacCulloch and Keith Van Horn. This trade marked the beginning of MacCulloch's second tenure with the franchise.

On August 27, the Sixers signed Brian Skinner.

On September 30, the Sixers signed Art Long and William Avery. Avery would not play any games with Philadelphia.

On October 11, the Sixers waived Alvin Jones. On the 23rd, they waived Damone Brown.[26]

Draft picks

Main article: 2002 NBA draft
More information Round, Pick ...

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Roster Notes

Regular season

Season standings

More information W, L ...
More information #, Team ...
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...

Game log

Playoffs

More information 2003 playoff game log, Game ...

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

Season

More information Player, GP ...

Playoffs

More information Player, GP ...

Awards and records

References

  1. [1]
    2002-03 Philadelphia 76ers
  2. [2]
    Wise, Mike (August 7, 2002). "PRO BASKETBALL; Nets Get Mutombo from 76ers for Van Horn and MacCulloch". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2002.
  3. [3]
    "Nets Get Mutombo for Van Horn, MacCulloch". Los Angeles Times. August 7, 2002. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  4. [4]
    "76ers Trade Mutombo to Nets". The Washington Post. August 7, 2002. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  5. [5]
    Smith, Sam (October 30, 2002). "Eastern Conference Capsules". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. [6]
    "NBA Games Played on February 6, 2003". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  7. [7]
    "Posey Involved in Three-Team Trade". United Press International. December 18, 2002. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Nuggets, Rockets, 76ers Agree to 3-Way Trade". Arizona Daily Sun. December 18, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  9. [9]
    "2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  10. [10]
    "2003 NBA All-Star Game: West 155, East 145 (2OT)". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. [11]
    Teaford, Elliott (May 4, 2003). "Duncan to Win Second MVP in a Row". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  12. [12]
    "2002–03 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  13. [13]
    "2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  14. [14]
    "PRO BASKETBALL; The Sixers and Iverson Finish Off the Hornets". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 3, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  15. [15]
    "Iverson Helps 76ers Advance". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 3, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  16. [16]
    Martel, Brett (May 4, 2003). "Sixers Book Advance Ticket". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  17. [17]
    Popper, Steve (May 17, 2003). "PRO BASKETBALL; Billups Hits Sixers Late and Pistons March On". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  18. [18]
    Maaddi, Rob (May 17, 2003). "Billups Back, Pistons Go Forward". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  19. [19]
    "Detroit Sends 76ers Packing". Tampa Bay Times. May 17, 2003. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  20. [20]
    Popper, Steve (July 22, 2003). "PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; Knicks Are Still Pursuing Van Horn". The New York Times. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  21. [21]
    "Sprewell Is Part of 4-Team Trade". Los Angeles Times. July 24, 2003. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  22. [22]
    Broussard, Chris (May 27, 2003). "PRO BASKETBALL; A Little Traveling Music as Brown Leaves the Sixers for Points Unknown". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  23. [23]
    Wyche, Steve (May 27, 2003). "Brown Bows Out as Coach of 76ers". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Brown Expected to Replace Carlisle". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 1, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  25. [25]
    "PRO BASKETBALL; Pistons Oust Carlisle and Want to Talk to Brown". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 1, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  26. [26]
    "2002-03 Philadelphia 76ers Transactions".

See also
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 2002–03_Philadelphia_76ers_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.