2002–03 San Antonio Spurs season
NBA professional basketball team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2002–03 NBA season was the 36th season of the franchise, 30th in San Antonio, and 27th in the National Basketball Association.[1] This was also the Spurs' first season playing at the SBC Center (now AT&T Center). During the off-season, the team signed free agents Kevin Willis,[2] acquired second-year guard Speedy Claxton from the Philadelphia 76ers,[3] and re-acquired former Spurs guard and three-point specialist Steve Kerr from the Portland Trail Blazers.[4][5] Argentinian future star Manu Ginóbili, who was drafted by the team in 1999, would make his debut for his first NBA season.[6] This would also be the fourteenth and final season for former All-Star center, and long-time Spurs star David Robinson.[7][8][9] The Spurs played strong basketball, posting a nine-game winning streak at midseason, holding a 33–16 record at the All-Star break,[10] then winning eleven straight games near the end of the season. The Spurs would win 60 games for only the second time in franchise history, finishing with a league-best 60–22 record.[11]
2002–03 San Antonio Spurs season | |||
---|---|---|---|
NBA champions | |||
Conference champions | |||
Division champions | |||
Head coach | Gregg Popovich | ||
General manager | R. C. Buford | ||
President | Gregg Popovich | ||
Owner(s) | Peter Holt | ||
Arena | SBC Center | ||
Results | |||
Record | 60–22 (.732) | ||
Place | Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 1st (Western) | ||
Playoff finish | NBA Champions (Defeated Nets 4–2) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | Fox Sports Net Southwest, KENS, KRRT | ||
Radio | KLEY | ||
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The season saw Tim Duncan earn his second consecutive NBA MVP Award, averaging 23.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game.[12][13][14] He was named to the All-NBA First Team, the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and was selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.[15] In addition, second-year guard Tony Parker showed improvement, averaging 15.5 points and 5.3 assists per game, while Stephen Jackson provided the team with 11.8 points and 1.6 steals per game, and sixth man Malik Rose contributed 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game off the bench. Robinson averaged 8.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, which were career lows, while Ginóbili contributed 7.6 points per game off the bench, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Bruce Bowen provided with 7.1 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team.[16] Head coach Gregg Popovich was named Coach of the Year.[17][18] Duncan also finished in fourth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting,[19] while Parker finished in fourth place in Most Improved Player voting.[20] This season marked the official beginning of the Big Three era, and the end of the Twin Towers era. The trio of Duncan, Parker, and Ginóbili would lead the Spurs to win 3 more championships (2005, 2007, and 2014).
In the Western Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games after losing Game 1 in overtime,[21][22][23] then defeated the defending three-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semi-finals in six games.[24][25][26] In the Western Conference Finals, they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in six games to advance to the NBA Finals,[27][28][29] where they beat the New Jersey Nets in six games and won their second championship, their first title since 1999 NBA Finals.[7][30][31] Following the season, Jackson signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks,[32] while Steve Smith signed with the New Orleans Hornets,[33] and Robinson, Kerr and Danny Ferry all retired.
For the season, the Spurs changed their primary logo, adding black and silver colors,[34] and slightly changed their uniforms.[35][36] The primary logo remained in use until 2017, while the uniforms lasted until 2010.