Full NBA season
2002-03
Explore the indexed regular season, conference races, divisions, and every playoff matchup from the 2002-03 NBA season.
1277indexed games
15playoff series
The season, told as it happened
Duncan ends one dynasty and carries another forward
The Lakers chased a fourth title, Dallas and Sacramento pushed the West toward offense and New Jersey defended its conference—then Tim Duncan eliminated Shaq, survived Nowitzki's injury and finished David Robinson's career with a championship.
Full-season spoilers ahead
Begin the guided season story
This walkthrough reveals trades, playoff results, injuries and the champion as they happened. The regular archive below remains spoiler-safe.
Editorial sources and methodology
Athlore season stories are written as chronological editorial guides, checked against the linked season sources, and connected to the app's verified games, series, awards and exact player-season archives.
Postseason map
Playoff bracket
Follow every series from the opening round toward the NBA Finals.
Swipe through the bracket
1 / 4
First round
Conference semifinals
Conference finals
NBA Finals
Season honors
Awards and leaders
Open an award winner’s season or sort the verified leaders by any column.
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Midseason showcase
All-Star weekend
The event format follows what the league actually used that season, from East–West and captain drafts to multi-game tournaments.
East vs West
The classic conference matchup
The Eastern and Western Conference selections met in the traditional NBA All-Star Game format.
Selected rosters
Loading team rosters; the verified selection pool is available now.
Regular season
Conference standings
Western Conference
Conference standings| Seed | Team | W | L | Pct | PF/G | PA/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Mavericks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 103.0 | 95.2 |
| 2 | San Antonio Spurs | 60 | 22 | .732 | 95.8 | 90.4 |
| 3 | Sacramento Kings | 59 | 23 | .720 | 101.7 | 95.2 |
| 4 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 51 | 31 | .622 | 98.1 | 96.0 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 100.4 | 98.0 |
| 8 | Portland Trail Blazers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 95.2 | 92.5 |
| 6 | Utah Jazz | 47 | 35 | .573 | 94.7 | 92.3 |
| — | New Orleans Pelicans | 47 | 35 | .573 | 93.9 | 91.8 |
| 7 | Phoenix Suns | 44 | 38 | .537 | 95.5 | 94.4 |
| — | Houston Rockets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 93.8 | 92.3 |
| — | Seattle SuperSonics | 40 | 42 | .488 | 92.1 | 92.3 |
| — | Golden State Warriors | 38 | 44 | .463 | 102.4 | 103.6 |
| — | Memphis Grizzlies | 28 | 54 | .341 | 97.5 | 100.7 |
| — | Los Angeles Clippers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 93.8 | 97.9 |
| — | Denver Nuggets | 17 | 65 | .207 | 84.2 | 92.4 |
Eastern Conference
Conference standings| Seed | Team | W | L | Pct | PF/G | PA/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit Pistons | 50 | 32 | .610 | 91.4 | 87.7 |
| 2 | New Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 95.4 | 90.1 |
| — | Philadelphia 76ers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 96.8 | 94.5 |
| 3 | Indiana Pacers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 96.8 | 93.3 |
| 6 | Boston Celtics | 44 | 38 | .537 | 92.7 | 93.1 |
| 8 | Orlando Magic | 42 | 40 | .512 | 98.5 | 98.4 |
| 7 | Milwaukee Bucks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 99.5 | 99.3 |
| — | Washington Wizards | 37 | 45 | .451 | 91.5 | 92.5 |
| — | New York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 95.9 | 97.2 |
| — | Atlanta Hawks | 35 | 47 | .427 | 94.1 | 97.6 |
| — | Chicago Bulls | 30 | 52 | .366 | 95.0 | 100.1 |
| — | Miami Heat | 25 | 57 | .305 | 85.6 | 90.6 |
| — | Toronto Raptors | 24 | 58 | .293 | 90.9 | 96.8 |
| — | Cleveland Cavaliers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 91.4 | 101.0 |
Around the league