The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

's 2002–03 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

defeating the Eastern Conference champion

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, 4 games to 2, in the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

. Tim Duncan was named NBA Finals MVP for the second time. This postseason featured the most series decided by 6 games in NBA Playoff history. This postseason is notable for being the first time since

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

that all series were conducted in a best-of-seven format. From

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, the first-round series were best-of-five. It is also notable as the only time the conference quarterfinal round did not include any series sweeps. This is the first time that the NBA Playoffs carried more games on cable television than regular broadcast television, and marks the debut for the NBA Playoffs to be aired on

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regula ...

, and the return broadcast on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and ABC after the NBA departed from

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and TBS. The

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for '' NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Gr ...

and

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the executive vice president and head of basketball operations of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play either shoo ...

-led team was swept by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, ending the Pistons' quest for a third consecutive title. The Pistons would go on to appear in six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals through

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, the most consecutive appearances for any Eastern Conference team since the

Bill Russell William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Va ...

-led

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

(1956–69). The

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

ended a long conference finals drought by making it there for the first time since 1988. As of 2022, the 49-win Nets are the most recent NBA Finals participant to win fewer than 50 games in an 82-game season. Four teams have since made the Finals with sub-50 win records, but each of those times, the season was shorter than 82 games for particular reasons: - The

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

(46 - 20) and the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

(47 - 19) both made the 2012 Finals, but the 2011–2012 season was only 66 games long due to the NBA lockout. - The

(44 - 29) made the Finals in the 2019–2020 season, but that season was cut short due to the COVID plague and no team played a full 82 game schedule. - The

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

(46 - 26) made it to the Finals in the 2020–2021 season, however that season was only 72 games long. The

were swept in a postseason series for the first time since 1983.

Playoff qualifying

Western Conference

Eastern Conference

Bracket

First Round

Eastern Conference First Round

(1)
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
vs. (8)
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

The Pistons became the 7th team in NBA history to overcome a 3–1 series deficit and the first 1st seed to do so. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Magic winning the first meeting.

(2)
New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
vs. (7)
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

*In Game 3, Rodney Rogers hits the game winner with 2 seconds left. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first two meetings.

(3)
Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...
vs. (6)
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.

(4)
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...
vs. (5)
New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

This was the first playoff meeting between the 76ers and the New Orleans Pelicans/Hornets franchise.

Western Conference First Round

(1)
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
vs. (8)
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

In Game 1, after

Amar'e Stoudemire Amar'e Carsares Stoudemire ( ; he, אמארה יהושפט סטודמאייר; born November 16, 1982) is an American-Israeli professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as a player development assistant for the Bro ...

banks in a game-tying 3 with 7.9 seconds left in regulation, Stephon Marbury hits the game-winning 3 at the buzzer in OT. This was the sixth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Suns winning three of the first five meetings.

(2)
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
vs. (7)
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

Game 5 is

John Stockton John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, a ...

's final NBA game. It was also

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone sp ...

's last game in Utah as he joined the Los Angeles Lakers during the following offseason. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with each team winning one series apiece.

(3)
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...
vs. (6)
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

The Trail Blazers became the third NBA team to force a Game 7 after being down 0–3. This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning the first two meetings.

(4)
Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...
vs. (5)
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

This was the first playoff meeting between the Lakers and the Timberwolves.

Conference Semifinals

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1)
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
vs. (4)
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

* In Game 5, Chucky Atkins hit the game-winning layup with 0.9 seconds left after

Derrick Coleman Derrick Demetrius Coleman (born June 21, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Coleman was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up and attended high school in Detroit, and attended college at Syracuse University. He was select ...

was called for goaltending on the shot This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers winning the first meeting, which occurred when the Nationals/76ers franchise were in Syracuse and the Pistons franchise were in Fort Wayne.

(2)
New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
vs. (6)
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nets winning the first meeting.

Western Conference Semifinals

(1)
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
vs. (5)
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

* In Game 5, the Lakers nearly overcame a 25-point deficit, but

Robert Horry Robert Keith Horry (; born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. He played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning seven championships, the most of any pla ...

's potential game-winning 3 went in and out. This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first eight meetings.

(2)
Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...
vs. (3)
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Kings winning the first meeting.

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference Finals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) New Jersey Nets

* Jason Kidd hit the game-winning jumper with 1.4 seconds left in Game 1. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting.

Western Conference Finals

(1)
San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...
vs. (3)
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

Steve Kerr puts on a shooting performance for the ages connecting on 4 3-pointers closing out Dallas in game 6.

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

missed the final three games with a knee injury. This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Spurs winning the first meeting.

NBA Finals (W1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) New Jersey Nets

*Game 6 is David Robinson's final NBA game. The Spurs become the first team to win all playoff series in 6 games. This was the first NBA playoff meeting between the Nets and the Spurs. As members of the ABA, both teams met in the 1976 ABA Semifinals, where the Nets won 4–3.

References

External links

NBA.com's section for the 2003 NBA Playoffs
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Nba Playoffs National Basketball Association playoffs

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

Sports in Portland, Oregon fi:NBA-kausi 2002–2003#Pudotuspelit