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2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season

(lost to Pistons 2–4)

  • WPSG
  • Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

The 2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season was the 54th season for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association, and their 40th season in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the off-season, the 76ers acquired Keith Van Horn, and former 76ers center Todd MacCulloch from the New Jersey Nets; Van Horn was originally drafted by the team as the second overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. The team also signed free agents Greg Buckner and Brian Skinner.

The 76ers got off to a fast start by winning 15 of their first 19 games of the regular season, but then lost 14 of their next 18 games, and held a 25–24 record at the All-Star break. In December, the team acquired Kenny Thomas from the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade. The 76ers posted a nine-game winning streak at mid-season, and finished in second place in the Atlantic Division with a 48–34 record, earning the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, and qualifying for the NBA playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.

For the first time in his NBA career, Allen Iverson played a full 82-game season, averaging 27.6 points, 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game, as he was named to the All-NBA Second Team. 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, and Thomas contributed 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in 46 games after the trade. Meanwhile, Derrick Coleman provided with 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, Aaron McKie contributed 9.0 points, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, MacCulloch averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, but only played just 42 games, Buckner contributed 6.0 points per game, and Skinner provided with 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Iverson was selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Iverson finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and also finished in sixth place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Snow finished in tenth place; Snow also finished tied in 21st place in Most Improved Player voting, and head coach Larry Brown finished in ninth place in Coach of the Year voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2003 NBA playoffs, the 76ers faced off against the 5th–seeded New Orleans Hornets, who were led by the trio of All-Star forward Jamal Mashburn, All-Star guard Baron Davis, and David Wesley. The 76ers took a 3–1 series lead over the Hornets, before losing Game 5 at home, 93–91 at the First Union Center. The 76ers won Game 6 over the Hornets on the road, 107–103 at the New Orleans Arena to win the series in six games.

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the top–seeded, and Central Division champion Detroit Pistons, who were led by the trio of Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, and All-Star center, and Defensive Player of the Year, Ben Wallace. The 76ers lost the first two games to the Pistons on the road at The Palace of Auburn Hills, but managed to win the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the Pistons at the First Union Center, 95–82. However, the 76ers lost the next two games, including a Game 6 loss to the Pistons at the First Union Center in overtime, 93–89, thus losing the series in six games.

Following the season, Van Horn was traded to the New York Knicks, and Brown resigned as head coach after six seasons with the 76ers, and would take a coaching job with the Detroit Pistons. The 76ers would not win another NBA playoff series until 2012, where they defeated the Chicago Bulls in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2012 NBA playoffs.

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.

Draft picks

Main article: 2002 NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
116Jiří WelschSG/SFUnion Olimpija (Slovenia and Adriatic League)
245Sam ClancyPF/CUnited States

Roster

  • Larry Brown
  • Randy Ayers
  • Bob Bender
  • Dave Hanners
  • John Kuester
  • Mike Woodson

Roster Notes

  • Center Samuel Dalembert was on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

:z – clinched division title :y – clinched division title :x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | April 20 | New Orleans | W 98–90 | Allen Iverson (55) | Keith Van Horn (10) | Eric Snow (10) | First Union Center 19,711 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 2 | April 23 | New Orleans | W 90–85 | Allen Iverson (29) | Kenny Thomas (16) | Derrick Coleman (6) | First Union Center 20,229 | 2–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 26 | @ New Orleans | L 85–99 | Allen Iverson (28) | Keith Van Horn (9) | Allen Iverson (7) | New Orleans Arena 17,320 | 2–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | April 28 | @ New Orleans | W 96–87 | Allen Iverson (22) | Kenny Thomas (8) | Eric Snow (12) | New Orleans Arena 16,243 | 3–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | April 30 | New Orleans | L 91–93 | Allen Iverson (30) | Kenny Thomas (14) | Iverson, Snow (7) | First Union Center 19,403 | 3–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | May 2 | @ New Orleans | W 107–103 | Allen Iverson (45) | Keith Van Horn (18) | Eric Snow (9) | New Orleans Arena 18,570

4–2
- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
1
May 6
@ Detroit
L 87–98
Allen Iverson (27)
Derrick Coleman (8)
Allen Iverson (8)
The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076
0–1
- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
2
May 8
@ Detroit
L 97–104 (OT)
Allen Iverson (31)
Kenny Thomas (19)
Allen Iverson (7)
The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076
0–2
- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
3
May 10
Detroit
W 93–83
Allen Iverson (25)
Kenny Thomas (14)
Allen Iverson (11)
First Union Center
20,743
1–2
- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
4
May 11
Detroit
W 95–82
Allen Iverson (36)
Derrick Coleman (15)
Allen Iverson (11)
First Union Center
20,549
2–2
- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
5
May 14
@ Detroit
L 77–78
Derrick Coleman (23)
Derrick Coleman (11)
Allen Iverson (9)
The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076
2–3
- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
6
May 16
Detroit
L 89–93 (OT)
Allen Iverson (38)
Kenny Thomas (14)
Allen Iverson (9)
First Union Center
20,888
2–4
-

Player statistics

Regular season

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
†1107.0.2941.0001.5.1.1.11.1
75520.2.465.273.8022.91.31.0.26.0
643527.2.448.328.7847.01.4.81.19.4
†241820.7.404.6005.2.4.6.34.5
828242.5.414.277.7744.25.52.7.227.6
†1906.9.3801.000.2002.1.1.1.42.1
423519.3.517.6714.7.5.5.87.1
804029.7.429.330.8364.43.51.6.19.0
3504.1.339.500.889.7.2.2.11.5
6417.9.414.323.743.9.7.3.12.1
†1704.8.222.500.5.9.1.0.5
77917.9.550.6024.8.2.6.76.0
828237.9.452.219.8583.76.61.6.112.9
†462830.3.482.7508.51.61.0.510.2
747331.6.482.369.8047.11.3.9.415.9
21213.1.425.000.7502.11.2.6.24.4

Playoffs

PlayerGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
10011.2.323.2221.0001.7.3.1.22.6
121237.4.500.400.8728.02.0.61.313.6
10014.1.6321.0002.8.2.1.12.8
121246.4.416.345.7374.37.42.4.131.7
12026.3.535.556.8573.61.8.8.27.8
602.7.000.000.000.5.0.0.0.0
804.8.167.0001.000.8.0.0.1.8
121234.6.422.100.8793.35.61.5.011.5
121232.4.535.6559.3.9.7.410.6
121233.5.382.438.9007.5.8.8.210.4
1009.6.348.000.7501.5.0.2.01.9
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the 76ers only.

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records

  • Allen Iverson, All-NBA Second Team
  • Eric Snow, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

References

References

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