2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season
| Industry | Professional basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | January 1, 1946 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia , United States |
| Products | Basketball team |
The 2002–03 Philadelphia 76ers season represented the franchise's 54th campaign in the NBA and its 40th year based in Philadelphia. During the off-season, the Sixers brought back Keith Van Horn along with center Todd MacCulloch in a trade from the New Jersey Nets; notably, Van Horn had originally been drafted by Philadelphia in 1997. The team began the season impressively, securing victories in 15 of their initial 19 contests, but experienced a decline afterward, entering the All-Star break with a 25–24 record. In December, Philadelphia acquired Kenny Thomas through a three-team deal involving the Houston Rockets. Concluding the regular season, the Sixers placed second in the Atlantic Division with a 48–34 record and earned the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Allen Iverson completed his first full 82-game season, posting averages of 27.6 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. His performance garnered him All-NBA Second Team recognition, selection to the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, and a sixth-place finish in MVP voting. Van Horn contributed 15.9 points and grabbed 7.1 rebounds per game, while Eric Snow provided 12.9 points and 6.6 assists per game and was honored on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Additional support came from Derrick Coleman and Aaron McKie.
In the postseason, Philadelphia overcame the New Orleans Hornets in six games during the opening round but fell to the Detroit Pistons in six games during the conference semifinals. After the season concluded, Van Horn was traded to the New York Knicks.
This campaign marked head coach Larry Brown's final year with the Sixers; he resigned on Memorial Day 2003 and subsequently guided the Detroit Pistons to an NBA Championship in 2004 as well as an appearance in the Finals in 2005. The Sixers would not progress beyond the first round of the playoffs again until 2012.
Offseason
During the 2002 NBA draft, Philadelphia selected Czech swingman Jiří Welsch along with forward-center Sam Clancy, who ultimately did not play in the NBA. On draft day, the Sixers executed three trades: they sent their first-round selection Welsch to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for a 2004 second-round pick and a first-round pick in 2005; traded Speedy Claxton to the San Antonio Spurs for Mark Bryant, Randy Holcomb, and John Salmons; and swapped second-round picks from 2004 and 2006 with the Atlanta Hawks to acquire Efthimios Rentzias.
On July 25, Philadelphia signed seasoned players Greg Buckner and Monty Williams. Then on August 6, veteran center Dikembe Mutombo was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Todd MacCulloch—returning him to Philadelphia—and Keith Van Horn. Subsequent acquisitions included signing Brian Skinner on August 27 and both Art Long and William Avery on September 30; Avery did not appear in any games during the season. The team waived Alvin Jones on October 11 followed by Damone Brown on October 23.
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Jiří Welsch | SG/SF | Template:CZE | Union Olimpija (Slovenia and Adriatic League) |
| 2 | 45 | Sam Clancy | PF/C | File:Flag of the United States.svg United States | Template:College |
Roster Notes
- Center Samuel Dalembert was sidelined for the entire season as a result of a knee injury.
Season standings
- z – secured division championship
- y – secured division championship
- x – secured a playoff berth
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Leading Scorer | Leading Rebounder | Leading Assists | Venue & Attendance | Series Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 20 | New Orleans | W 98–90 | Allen Iverson (55) | Keith Van Horn (10) | Eric Snow (10) | First Union Center 19,711 |
1–0 |
| 2 | April 23 | New Orleans | W 90–85 | Allen Iverson (29) | Kenny Thomas (16) | Derrick Coleman (6) | First Union Center 20,229 |
2–0 |
| 3 | April 26 | @ New Orleans | L 85–99 | Allen Iverson (28) | Keith Van Horn (9) | Allen Iverson (7) | New Orleans Arena 17,320 |
2–1 |
| 4 | April 28 | @ New Orleans | W 96–87 | Allen Iverson (22) | Kenny Thomas (8) | Eric Snow (12) | New Orleans Arena 16,243 |
3–1 |
| 5 | April 30 | New Orleans | L 91–93 | Allen Iverson (30) | Kenny Thomas (14) | Iverson, Snow (7) | First Union Center 19,403 |
3–2 |
| 6 | May 2 | @ New Orleans | W 107–103 | Allen Iverson (45) | Keith Van Horn (18) | Eric Snow (9) | New Orleans Arena 18,570 |
4–2 |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Leading Scorer | Leading Rebounder | Leading Assists | Venue & Attendance | Series Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 6 | @ Detroit | L 87–98 | Allen Iverson (27) | Derrick Coleman (8) | Allen Iverson (8) | The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 |
0–1 |
| 2 | May 8 | @ Detroit | (OT) L 97–104 | Iverson (31) | Kenny Thomas (19) | Iverson (7) | Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 |
0–2 |
| 3 | May 10 | Detroit | W 93–83 | Iverson (25) | Thomas (14) | Iverson (11) | First Union Center 20,743 |
1–2 |
| 4 | May 11 | Detroit | W 95–82 | Iverson (36) | Coleman (15) | Iverson (11) | First Union Center 20,549 |
2–2 |
| 5 | May 14 | @ Detroit | L 77–78 | Coleman (23) | Coleman (11) | Iverson (9) | Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 |
2–3 |
| 6 | May 16 | Detroit | L OT 89–93 | Iverson (38) | Thomas (14) | Iverson (9) | First Union Center 20,888 |
2–4 |
Regular season
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| † | 11 | 0 | 7.0 | .294 | — | 1.000 | 1.5 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 1.1 |
| 75 | 5 | 20.2 | .465 | .273 | .802 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.0 | .2 | 6.0 | |
| 64 | 35 | 27.2 | .448 | .328 | .784 | 7.0 | 1.4 | .8 | 1.1 | 9.4 | |
| † | 24 | 18 | 20.7 | .404 | — | .600 | 5.2 | .4 | .6 | .3 | 4.5 |
| 82 | 82 | 42.5 | .414 | .277 | .774 | 4.2 | 5.5 | 2.7 | .2 | 27.6 | |
| † | 19 | 0 | 6.9 | .380 | 1.000 | .200 | 2.1 | .1 | .1 | .4 | 2.1 |
| 42 | 35 | 19.3 | .517 | — | .671 | 4.7 | .5 | .5 | .8 | 7.1 | |
| 80 | 40 | 29.7 | .429 | .330 | .836 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 1.6 | .1 | 9.0 | |
| 35 | 0 | 4.1 | .339 | .500 | .889 | .7 | .2 | .2 | .1 | 1.5 | |
| 64 | 1 | 7.9 | .414 | .323 | .743 | .9 | .7 | .3 | .1 | 2.1 | |
| † | 17 | 0 | 4.8 | .222 | — | .500 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 9 |17.9 |0.550 | — |0.602 |4.8 |0.2 |0.6 |0.7 |6.0 | |||||||||||
| 82 |37.9 |0.452 |0.219 |0.858 |3.7 |6.6 |1.6 |0.1 |12.9 | |||||||||||
† |
28 |30.3 |0.482 | — |0.750 |8.5 |1.6 |1 |0,5 10,2 | | ||||||||||
| style = "text-align: left" >
74 73 31,6 482 369 804 7,1 13 09 04 15,9 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Sortname | 10 | 0 | 11.2 | .323 | .222 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .3 | .1 | .2 | 2.6 |
| Template:Sortname | 12 | 12 | 37.4 | .500 | .400 | .872 | 8.0 | 2.0 | .6 | 1.3 | 13.6 |
| Template:Sortname | 10 | 0 | 14.1 | .632 | — | 1.000 | 2.8 | .2 | .1 | .1 | 2.8 |
| Template:Sortname | 12 | 12 | 46.4 | .416 | .345 | .737 | 4.3 | 7.4 | 2.4 | .1 | 31.7 |
| Template:Sortname | 12 | 0 | 26.3 | .535 | .556 | .857 | 3.6 | 1.8 | .8 | .2 | 7.8 |
| Template:Sortname | 6 | 0 | 2.7 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Template:Sortname | 8 | 0 | 4.8 | .167 | .000 | 1.000 | .8 | .0 | .0 | .1 | .8 |
| Template:Sortname | 12 | 12 | 34.6 | .422 | .100 | .879 | 3.3 | 5.6 | 1.5 | .0 | 11.5 |
| Template:Sortname | 12 | 12 | 32.4 | .535 | — | .655 | 9.3 | .9 | .7 | .4 | 10.6 |
| Template:Sortname | 12 | 12 | 33.5 | .382 | .438 | .900 | 7.5 | .8 | .8 | .2 | 10.4 |
| Template:Sortname | 10 | 0 | 9.6 | .348 | .000 | .750 | 1.5 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 1.9 |
Awards and records
- Allen Iverson, named to the All-NBA Second Team
- Eric Snow, selected for the NBA All-Defensive Second Team