2002–03_Phoenix_Suns_season

2002–03 Phoenix Suns season

2002–03 Phoenix Suns season

NBA team season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 35th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.[1] After missing the playoffs the previous season, the Suns had the ninth pick in the 2002 NBA draft, and selected high school basketball star Amar'e Stoudemire,[2][3][4][5] and signed free agent Scott Williams during the off-season.[6] Frank Johnson returned as head coach, as the Suns held a 29–21 record at the All-Star break,[7] and posted eight additional wins from the previous season to finish fourth in the Pacific Division with a 44–38 record.[8] The Suns returned to the playoffs after snapping a streak of 13 seasons in a row the year before, a franchise record. America West Arena hosted Suns home games.

Quick Facts Phoenix Suns season, Head coach ...

Point guard Stephon Marbury and forward Shawn Marion provided a pair of 20–20 scorers, with Marbury averaging 22.3 points, 8.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while Marion averaged 21.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. The 20-year-old 6' 10" Stoudemire was drafted to balance out a team that had been deep at the guard position in years past, averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while Anfernee Hardaway provided the team with 10.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, and second-year guard Joe Johnson contributed 9.8 points per game.[9] Marbury and Marion were both selected for the All-Star Game,[10] while Marbury ended the season as a member of the All-NBA Third Team.

The Suns earned the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, and were matched against the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference First Round. The Suns won Game 1 on the road, 96–95,[11][12] but lost the series to the eventual league champions, four games to two.[13][14][15] The Spurs would reach the Finals to defeat the New Jersey Nets in six games, winning their second championship.[16][17][18]

In Stoudemire, who earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors, and became the first high school draft pick to become NBA Rookie of the Year,[19][20][21] the Suns had drafted an athletic big man to join the equally athletic Marion for the coming seasons. Following the season, Bo Outlaw was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.[22][23]

Offseason

NBA draft

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

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Regular season

Standings

More information W, L ...
More information #, Team ...

Record vs. opponents

More information Team, ATL ...

Playoffs

Game log

More information 2003 playoff game log, Game ...

Awards and honors

Week/Month

  • Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January.
  • Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for April.
  • Frank Johnson was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for December.
  • Stephon Marbury was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played November 24 through November 30.
  • Stephon Marbury was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played January 5 through January 11.
  • Shawn Marion was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played April 7 through April 13.

All-Star

Season

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 ...

† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

More information Player, GP ...

† – Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 5 three-pointers made.
# – Minimum 10 free throws made.

References

  1. [1]
    "2002-03 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats".
  2. [2]
    Passan, Jeff (June 27, 2002). "Rockets Select Yao No. 1 Overall in Draft". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  3. [3]
    Povtak, Tim (June 27, 2002). "Foreign Players Make Move". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Rockets Make Yao Ming First Overall Pick". ESPN. June 26, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  5. [5]
    "2002 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  6. [6]
    "WESTERN CONFERENCE: Team-by-Team Preview". The New York Times. October 28, 2002. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  7. [7]
    "NBA Games Played on February 6, 2003". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  8. [8]
    "2002–03 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. [9]
    "2002–03 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  10. [10]
    "2003 NBA All-Star Game: West 155, East 145 (2OT)". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. [11]
    "PRO BASKETBALL; The Suns Cash In on a Couple of Unlikely Bank Shots". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 20, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  12. [12]
    "Suns Put Win in the Bank". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. April 20, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  13. [13]
    "PRO BASKETBALL; Spurs Finish Suns' Season". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 2, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. [14]
    Teaford, Elliott (May 2, 2003). "Another Shot at Champs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  15. [15]
    Magruder, Jack (May 2, 2003). "Duncan Dominates, Suns Eliminated". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  16. [16]
    "Spurs Defeat Nets to Win N.B.A. Title". The New York Times. Associated Press. June 15, 2003. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  17. [17]
    Heisler, Mark (June 16, 2003). "Spurs Reduce the 'Risk". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  18. [18]
    "San Antonio 88, New Jersey 77". United Press International. June 15, 2003. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  19. [19]
    "PLUS: N.B.A.; Stoudemire Named Rookie of the Year". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 25, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Stoudemire Is Rookie of Year". Deseret News. April 25, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  21. [21]
    "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Grizzlies Acquire F Outlaw, C Tsakalidis from Suns". ESPN. September 30, 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  23. [23]
    "Suns Send Outlaw and Tsakalidis to Grizzlies". Deseret News. October 1, 2003. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  24. [24]
    "2002–03 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 2002–03_Phoenix_Suns_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.