2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season

2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season
Head coach	Larry Brown
Arena	First Union Center
Results
Record	48–34 (.585)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Semifinals (eliminated 2-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, WPSG
Radio	WIP

The 2002-03 NBA season was the 76ers 54th season in the NBA and 40th season in Philadelphia. The Sixers improved on their last season, finishing with a 48-34 record, with the number 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. The team defeated the defunct New Orleans Hornets, (now the Pelicans and the Hornets moved back to Charlotte) led by Baron Davis in the first round, but they could not go further in the next round as they lost to the Detroit Pistons in six games.

This season was head coach Larry Brown's last in Philadelphia as he resigned on Memorial Day, 2003. Brown would later go on to coach the Pistons, where he helped the team win the 2004 NBA Championship. He led the team to another Finals appearance in 2005. As of 2016, the Sixers have advanced past the first round of the playoffs only once since this 2003 playoff victory over New Orleans (2012, Bulls)

For the first time in his career, Allen Iverson played a full 82-game season. He would have another in 2007-08 while with the Denver Nuggets.

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

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club
1	16	Jiří Welsch	SG/SF	Czech Republic	Union Olimpija (Slovenia and Adriatic League)
2	45	Sam Clancy	PF/C	United States	Southern California

Roster

Philadelphia 76ers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From G 21 Buckner, Greg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Clemson F/C 44 Coleman, Derrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Syracuse C 1 Dalembert, Samuel  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Seton Hall F/C 40 Hill, Tyrone 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Xavier G 3 Iverson, Allen 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Georgetown C 11 MacCulloch, Todd 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Washington F 8 McKie, Aaron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Temple C 14 Rentzias, Efthimios 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Greece F 7 Salmons, John 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Miami (FL) C 54 Skinner, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Baylor G 20 Snow, Eric 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Michigan State F 9 Thomas, Kenny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) New Mexico F 4 Van Horn, Keith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Utah F 5 Williams, Monty 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Notre Dame	Head coach Larry Brown Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Note

Bold = All-Star selection

Regular season

Season standings

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	–
2	y-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	1
3	x-Indiana Pacers	48	34	.585	2
4	x-Philadelphia 76ers	48	34	.585	2
5	x-New Orleans Hornets	47	35	.573	3
6	x-Boston Celtics	44	38	.537	6
7	x-Milwaukee Bucks	42	40	.512	8
8	x-Orlando Magic	42	40	.512	8
9	New York Knicks	37	45	.451	13
9	Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	13
11	Atlanta Hawks	35	47	.427	15
12	Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	20
13	Miami Heat	25	57	.305	25
14	Toronto Raptors	24	58	.293	26
15	Cleveland Cavaliers	17	65	.207	33

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

East First Round

(4) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) New Orleans Hornets Last Playoff Meeting: 2000 Eastern Conference First Round (Philadelphia won 3-1; Hornets were in Charlotte at the time)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (NOH-PHI)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 20	New Orleans	90	Philadelphia	98	0–1	First Union Center, Philadelphia	TNT 8:00et	Recap
2	April 23	New Orleans	85	Philadelphia	90	0–2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	TNT 7:00et	Recap
3	April 26	Philadelphia	85	New Orleans	99	1–2	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans	TNT 7:30et/6:30ct	Recap
4	April 28	Philadelphia	96	New Orleans	87	1–3	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans	TNT 7:30et/6:30ct	Recap
5	April 30	New Orleans	93	Philadelphia	91	2–3	First Union Center, Philadelphia	TNT 6:00et	Recap
6	May 2	Philadelphia	107	New Orleans	103	2–4	New Orleans Arena, New Orleans	ESPN 8:30et/7:30ct	Recap
Philadelphia wins series 4–2

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers Last Playoff Meeting: 1955 NBA Finals (Syracuse Nationals, the predecessor to the 76ers, won 4-3 over the Pistons, at the time located in Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (PHI-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 6	Philadelphia	87	Detroit	98	0–1	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 7:30et	Recap
2*	May 8	Philadelphia	97	Detroit	104	0–2	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 7:00et	Recap
3	May 10	Detroit	83	Philadelphia	93	1–2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
4	May 11	Detroit	82	Philadelphia	95	2–2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 7:30et	Recap
5	May 14	Philadelphia	77	Detroit	78	2–3	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
6*	May 16	Detroit	93	Philadelphia	89	2–4	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
Detroit wins series 4–2

*Required overtime.

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Awards and records

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

See also

• 2002-03 NBA season