2003 NBA Finals

2003 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich 4 New Jersey Nets Byron Scott 2
Dates	June 4–15
MVP	Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Television	ABC (U.S.)
Announcers	Brad Nessler, Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert
Radio network	ESPN
Announcers	Brent Musburger and Jack Ramsay
Referees
Game 1: Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, Joe DeRosa Game 2: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Bennett Salvatore Game 3: Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Jack Nies Game 4: Mike Callahan, Bernie Fryer, Eddie F. Rush Game 5: Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, Bennett Salvatore Game 6: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ron Garretson
Hall of Famers	Spurs David Robinson (2009) Nets Dikembe Mutombo (2015) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern Finals	Nets defeated Pistons, 4-0
Western Finals	Spurs defeated Mavericks, 4-2

The 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 2002–03 NBA season. The San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference took on the New Jersey Nets of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Spurs holding home court advantage. The series was played under a best-of-seven format. The Spurs won the series 4 games to 2. Spurs Forward Tim Duncan was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship series.

Television: ABC (Brad Nessler, Bill Walton, and Tom Tolbert announcing)

The 2003 Finals documentary was narrated by Rodd Houston, who later narrated three other NBA Finals series.

This was the first NBA Finals since 1995 to use the traditional script font in its logo; in the intervening years, a more contemporary all-gold logo had been used with the Larry O'Brien Trophy, as well as the year and the series' name encompassed by an oval on a black background.

Background

The 2002–03 season had already started as a memorable one for the San Antonio Spurs as it was the team's first season in their new arena, SBC Center. However, as this season was one of beginnings, it was also one of endings. During the season, Spurs star David Robinson announced that this season would be his last. The NBA Finals also marked the end of Steve Kerr's career as well—he was on the Spurs, having already won three titles with the Chicago Bulls.

Over the last few seasons, injuries had slowed down Robinson's productivity to the point where he missed 18 games in his final season while averaging only 8.5 points per game. Nevertheless, Robinson would retire holding Spurs franchise career records in points, rebounds, steals and blocks. The Spurs had a very successful season, finishing 60-22, tying for the best record in the NBA that year.

The playoffs started off shaky for the Spurs as they lost game 1 of the first-round series against the Phoenix Suns in overtime. However the Spurs would bounce back to take the series in 6 games. The second round put the Spurs face-to-face with the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. After splitting the first four games, the Spurs eked out a win in game 5, benefitting from a rare last-second in-and-out miss from the Lakers' clutch-shooter Robert Horry (who would help the Spurs win a title two years later). The Spurs would eventually dispose of the Lakers in Game 6, ending the Lakers' championship run. In the Conference Finals, the Spurs would face their in-state nemesis the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs would start off slow again, losing Game 1 by 3 points, but would take control of the series from there, taking the next three straight. After losing Game 5 at home 103-91, the Spurs would come from 15 points down in the fourth quarter in Game 6 as Steve Kerr buried four 3-pointers in a row to take the series in six games with a 90-78 win in Dallas, advancing to their second NBA Finals in franchise history.

In the meantime the New Jersey Nets, who lost to the Lakers in the Finals the previous year, were out to prove that they were serious title contenders, despite the lack of competition in the Eastern Conference. The Nets would finish the regular season 49-33, good enough to win the Atlantic Division and clinch the number 2 seed in the East. After splitting the first four games with the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, the Nets would take complete control, winning the series in 6 games. From then on, the Nets had no trouble making a return to the NBA Finals, sweeping the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons to win their second straight Eastern Conference championship.

Road to the Finals

Regular season series

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

Starting lineups

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ‡ 

2003 NBA Finals rosters

San Antonio Spurs

2003 San Antonio Spurs Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 6.0 !C 34 CHN ! Bateer, Mengke 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 290 lb (132 kg) China 1.5 !G 12 USA ! Bowen, Bruce 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Cal State Fullerton 1.5 !G 10 USA ! Claxton, Speedy 7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Hofstra 5.5 !F/C 21 VIR ! Duncan, Tim 7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Wake Forest 4.0 !F 35 USA ! Ferry, Danny 7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Duke 1.5 !G 20 ARG ! Ginóbili, Manu 7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Argentina 4.0 !F 3 USA ! Jackson, Stephen 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Butler CC 1.5 !G 25 USA ! Kerr, Steve 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arizona 1.5 !G 9 FRA ! Parker, Tony 7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) France 6.0 !C 50 USA ! Robinson, David 7000215899999999999♠7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Navy 4.0 !F 31 USA ! Rose, Malik 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Drexel 1.5 !G 8 USA ! Smith, Steve 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Michigan State 5.5 !F/C 42 USA ! Willis, Kevin 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Michigan State	Head coach Gregg Popovich Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

New Jersey Nets

2003 New Jersey Nets Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 1.5 !G 1 USA ! Armstrong, Brandon 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Pepperdine 6.0 !C 35 USA ! Collins, Jason 7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Stanford 1.5 !G 12 USA ! Harris, Lucious 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Long Beach State 4.0 !F 24 USA ! Jefferson, Richard 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Arizona 1.5 !G 2 USA ! Johnson, Anthony 7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) College of Charleston 1.5 !G 5 USA ! Kidd, Jason 7000193040000000000♠6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) UC Berkeley 1.5 !G 30 USA ! Kittles, Kerry 7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova 4.0 !F 13 USA ! Marshall, Donny 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Connecticut 4.0 !F 6 USA ! Martin, Kenyon 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Cincinnati 6.0 !C 55 COD ! Mutombo, Dikembe 7000218440000000000♠7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Georgetown 4.0 !F 54 USA ! Rogers, Rodney 7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Wake Forest 4.0 !F 21 USA ! Scalabrine, Brian 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) Southern California 1.5 !G 8 USA ! Slay, Tamar 7000203200000000000♠6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Marshall 6.0 !C 34 USA ! Williams, Aaron 7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier	Head coach Byron Scott (Arizona State) Assistant coach(es) Lawrence Frank (Indiana) Eddie Jordan (Rutgers) Mike O'Koren (North Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Series summary

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. The NBA, after experimenting in the early years, restored this original format for the Finals in 1985. So far, the other playoff series are still running on a 2-2-1-1-1 site format.

Game 4 at Continental Airlines Arena was not a sellout.

This is the last Finals series to be played on a Wednesday-Friday-Sunday rotation which was used starting in 1991 when NBC began carrying the NBA. Starting with the 2004 series, all Finals are now Thursday-Sunday-Tuesday.

Game summaries

Features

While the series received the usual hype of any Finals, it was not heavily anticipated due to the absence of the Lakers, who had won the previous three finals. The Spurs did have a star in Tim Duncan, but at the time he was criticized as being boring compared to flashier players such as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

The series largely centered on the half-court offense and defense of each team, with only one team breaking 100 points in the series. The Nets constantly double-teamed Tim Duncan, and at one point quadruple-teamed him, allowing him to find open teammate or score over the top of the multiple defenders.

Nets point guard Jason Kidd, second to Tim Duncan in MVP voting during the 2003 season, was in the last year of his contract with the team, leading to speculation that the Spurs (a team that could afford signing him) would pursue him in the free agency following the 2003 Finals despite already having future All-Star Tony Parker on the roster. The underlying story of whether or not Kidd would be in a Spurs uniform the following season continued into the off-season. Kidd would visit San Antonio and speak with team officials, but ultimately re-signed with the Nets.

Perhaps the lasting memory of the series is David Robinson retiring as a champion. In the clinching Game 6, Robinson had 13 points and 17 rebounds to complement Tim Duncan on the inside. In that game, the Spurs trailed at one point 72-63 before going on a 19-0 run to put the game away and take the series. Stephen Jackson's three pointer during the run held the lead permanently. The Spurs' win denied New Jersey from having both NBA and NHL titles in the same year.

Tim Duncan became the 8th player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award a second time. He joined the list of Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal. In the series clinching game, Duncan came two blocks shy of a quadruple-double in an NBA Finals match, an extremely rare feat, finishing with 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. Interestingly enough, David Robinson recorded the last quadruple-double in NBA history with the Spurs. Duncan and Robinson grabbed 37 rebounds between them, more than the total rebounds of the entire Nets team combined (35).

Steve Kerr joined Dennis Johnson, Bill Walton, Dennis Rodman, Ron Harper and Robert Horry as the only players to win at least two championships with two franchises. Kerr won three with the Chicago Bulls (1996–98) and another with the Spurs in 1999. Robert Horry won two with the Houston Rockets (1994–95) and three with the LA Lakers (2000–02), and later went on to win two more with the Spurs in 2005 and 2007.

Impact of the Series

• Despite a great performance, particularly a barrage of three-pointers in the clinching Game 6 by Spurs swingman Stephen Jackson, the Spurs let Jackson leave as a free agent. Spurs veterans Steve Kerr, Danny Ferry, and most notably David Robinson retired after the 2003 Finals.
• Duncan and Robinson would be named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated for 2003.
• This series would mark the first time that two former ABA teams pitted off against each other in the NBA Finals. Four years prior, though, the Spurs made it to the NBA Finals in the shortened 1998–99 NBA season and won the championship.

Player statistics

San Antonio Spurs

New Jersey Nets

Aftermath

The Nets had an inconsistent start to the 2003–04 NBA season, and with a 22-20 record early in the season they fired head coach Byron Scott. Lawrence Frank would take over and lead the Nets to another Atlantic Division title by winning 47 games, highlighted by a 13-0 start, the best start for a rookie head coach in sports history. Despite that, however, the Nets would lose to the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons in seven games of the conference semifinals. To this day, this is the Nets' last finals appearance and their last in New Jersey, moving to Brooklyn, New York in the 2012–13 season.

Jason Kidd remained with the Nets until he was traded in February 2008 to the team he was originally drafted to, the Dallas Mavericks. Kidd, along with teammate Dirk Nowitzki, led the Mavericks to the NBA title in 2011. Kenyon Martin was sent to the Denver Nuggets after the 2003–04 season, while Richard Jefferson eventually joined the Spurs in the 2009–10 season, after a brief one-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. He would later win a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Despite the departures of Robinson, Jackson and Kerr, the Spurs still managed to win 57 games, aided by Tim Duncan's strong play. However, they were ousted in six games by the Los Angeles Lakers, highlighted by Derek Fisher's game winner with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. In the years following Robinson's retirement, Duncan would lead the Spurs to three more NBA titles, in 2005, 2007 and 2014.

Television coverage

This NBA Finals was aired on NBA on ABC, after 30 years of absence for ESPN on ABC carrying the NBA.

Until 2007, this was the lowest rated finals in NBA history.

This was also the only year that ABC broadcast both the NBA and the Stanley Cup Finals that involved teams from one city in the same year. During ABC's broadcast of Game 3, Brad Nessler, Tom Tolbert, and Bill Walton said that ABC was in a unique situation getting ready for both that game and Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Devils and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim the following night.^[1][2] Gary Thorne, Bill Clement, and John Davidson mentioned this the following night and thanked Nessler, Tolbert, and Walton for promoting NHL on ABC's broadcast of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.^[3]

See also

• 2003 NBA Playoffs
• 2003 Stanley Cup Finals

References

External links

• "Official website". Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2008-05-17.  CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)

NBA Finals
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