A Look Back at the 2003 NBA Season

A look back at the 2003 NBA season discussing the Top Players and moments.

The 2003 NBA season was a year of firsts

The 2003 NBA season was a year of firsts. For the first time in league history, the All-Star game was played in February. The game, which was held in Atlanta, featured a matchup of East and West All-Stars. The East won the game, 133-132, behind 28 points from MVP Lebron James

In the 2003 NBA draft the Cleveland Cavaliers selected James with the first overall pick. James would go on to have one of the greatest rookie seasons in NBA history averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game He was named Rookie of the Year and led the Cavaliers to a 35-47 record, their best record since 1998.

The 2003 season also saw the rise of another young star: Dwyane Wade Wade, who was drafted fifth overall by the Miami Heat averaged 16.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in his rookie season. He would go on to become one of the greatest players in Heat history and lead them to three NBA championships (2006, 2012 and 2013).

The Spurs win their second consecutive championship

In 2003, the San Antonio Spurs won their second consecutive NBA Championship defeating the New Jersey Nets in six games. The Spurs were led by their “Big Three” of Tim Duncan Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker who were all named to the All-Star team that year. Duncan was also named the Finals MVP for his performance in the series.

The 2003 NBA season was marked by several other notable events. Kobe Bryant scored a then-record 81 points in a game against the Toronto Raptors and Lebron James made his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers The Detroit Pistons also shocked the league by winning their first ever championship, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.

The rise of the Lakers

The 2003 NBA season was marked by the rise of the Lakers, who, led by All-Star Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, won their first championship in over a decade. The Lakers finished the regular season with a record of 50-32, good for fourth place in the Western Conference They then went on to win the Conference Finals defeating the San Antonio Spurs in six games. In the Finals, they faced off against the New Jersey Nets who were making their second consecutive appearance. The Lakers won the series in six games, giving them their tenth championship in franchise history.

The fall of the Kings

It was a season of ups and downs for the Sacramento Kings They started off strong, winning their first eight games. But then they lost nine of their next eleven. Despite their slump, they still managed to make the playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference

In the first round, they faced the second-seeded Dallas Mavericks The Mavericks were no match for the Kings, who won the series in five games.

In the second round, the Kings ran into a buzzsaw in the form of the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs The Spurs swept the Kings aside, winning all four games by an average of 18 points.

It was a disappointing end to what had otherwise been a promising season for the Kings. But with a young core led by All-Star Chris Webber there was reason to believe that better days were ahead.

The rise of the Mavericks

In 2003, the Dallas Mavericks had their best season in franchise history. Led by young superstar Dirk Nowitzki the Mavericks won 60 games and earned the number one seed in the Western Conference They made it all the way to the conference finals where they lost to the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs.

It was a historic season for the Mavericks, and one that cemented Dirk Nowitzki as one of the NBA’s elite players. He would go on to lead the Mavericks to even more success in the years that followed, including an appearance in the 2011 NBA Finals

The fall of the Nets

After winning the Eastern Conference in 2002-03, the New Jersey Nets failed to make it past the second round of the playoffs, losing to the Detroit Pistons in six games. The Nets would never make it back to the NBA Finals

The All-Star Game

The All-Star Game was held on February 9, 2003, at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Hawks The game was originally supposed to be played on February 8, but it was postponed one day due to the space shuttle Columbia disaster. Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings was named the game’s MVP.

The Playoffs

After an exciting regular season the 2003 NBA playoffs did not disappoint. The first round saw some upsets, with the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves taking down the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers and the seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs coming out on top against the second-seeded Dallas Mavericks

In the second round, the Timberwolves continued their Cinderella run by defeating the top-seeded Sacramento Kings while the Spurs fell to the eventual champions, the fifth-seeded New Jersey Nets The Nets then went on to beat the Timberwolves in the Conference Finals before facing off against the Kobe Bryant led Lakers in the NBA Finals

In a close series that went back and forth, the Nets ultimately prevailed 4-2 to win their first ever NBA Championship

The Finals

It was a season for the ages. The Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs met in the NBA Finals for the third time in four years, with the Lakers coming out on top in a close, seven-game series. This was a rematch of sorts from the Western Conference Finals which the Lakers had also won in seven games.

The Lakers were led by their superstar tandem of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant who were looking to win their fourth title in five years. The Spurs were no slouches either, led by future Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and David Robinson

The series went back and forth, with neither team able to gain much of an advantage. After losing Game 1 at home, the Lakers won three straight to take a 3-1 lead. But the Spurs battled back, winning two straight to force a Game 7.

In the end, it was the Lakers who prevailed, thanks to some clutch shooting from Bryant and O’Neal’s dominance down low. It was a fitting end to what was arguably the best season in NBA history

Legacy

The 2003 NBA season was one for the ages. It was a season of firsts, as the league saw its first African American Head Coach (Doc Rivers) and its first National Player (Yao Ming) be named to All-Star rosters. It was also a season of great comebacks, as both Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett won MVP honors after missing most of the previous season due to injury.

But perhaps the biggest story of the 2003 NBA season was the emergence of Lebron James James, who had been drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft quickly became one of the league’s most dominant players. He led the Cavs to a miraculoous last-second win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, and then took them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals where they eventually lost to the eventual champion, the San Antonio Spurs

Despite their playoff loss, there was no denying that James and the Cavs had arrived. And in the years since, they have only become more dominant, making it to five straight NBA Finals and winning three championships. The legacy of the 2003 NBA season will be one that is remembered for many years to come.