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2003 NBA offseason

The 2003 NBA offseason.

A chronological guide to the transactions and decisions surrounding the 2003 NBA offseason.

Open the full season →Every offseason by year

In the order it happened

The transaction timeline

The draft, major signings, trades and roster decisions are ordered chronologically. Complete draft boards, trade packages and free-agent jersey changes are embedded at the moment they happened.

  1. June 26 · NBA Draft

    LeBron leads a class built to define an era →

    Cleveland selected LeBron James first, with Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all arriving in the top five and immediately changing their franchises.

    The complete draft board is preserved beside this moment →

    Draft board

    2003 NBA

    01
    1

    First overall selection

    LeBron James

    Cleveland Cavaliers

    Open every pick

  2. July 16 · Free agency

    Gilbert Arenas takes Washington's opportunity

    The Wizards used a cap-space exception unavailable to Golden State to land the second-year guard, whose leap soon made the contract one of the era's great bargains.

    Follow the jersey change beside this moment →

    55Free agencyAugust 8, 2003From GSWGSWARENAS0To WASWASARENAS0Arenas takes Washington's opportunityWashington used cap space that Golden State could not match under the rules of the time to sign the breakout second-round guard.Golden State Warriors → Washington WizardsOpen offseason →

  3. July · Free agency

    Gary Payton and Karl Malone join the Lakers

    Two future Hall of Famers accepted reduced roles and salaries beside Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, creating a four-star roster built for one immediate title run.

    Follow the jersey change beside this moment →

    56Free agencyJuly 16, 2003From MILMILPAYTON20To LALLALPAYTON20Payton joins the Lakers' veteran title chaseThe future Hall of Fame point guard accepted the midlevel exception to join Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.Milwaukee Bucks → Los Angeles LakersOpen offseason →57Free agencyJuly 16, 2003From UTAUTAMALONE32To LALLALMALONE11Malone leaves Utah for one title attemptAfter eighteen seasons in Utah, Malone took a reduced salary and role in Los Angeles for one final championship pursuit.Utah Jazz → Los Angeles LakersOpen offseason →

  4. August · Season setup

    A veteran superteam meets a rookie generation

    Los Angeles entered as the overwhelming paper favorite while one of the strongest draft classes ever began redefining the league from the bottom up.