The

2002–03 NBA season The 2002–03 NBA season was the 57th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season ended with the San Antonio Spurs beating the New Jersey Nets 4–2 in the 2003 NBA Finals. Notable occurrences *The Hornets relocate from Ch ...

was the 33rd season of the

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

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. In the

2002 NBA draft The 2002 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2002, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, ...

, the Cavaliers selected Dajuan Wagner from the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

with the sixth pick, and selected Carlos Boozer out of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

with the 34th pick in the second round. During the off-season, the team acquired

Darius Miles Darius LaVar Miles (born October 9, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. The , forward was selected directly out of high school by the Los Angeles Clippers with the third overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft. He was a Fi ...

from the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. After a 2–2 start to the season, the Cavaliers suffered a dreadful 15-game losing streak between November and December. They would continue to struggle as head coach John Lucas was replaced with Keith Smart after an 8–34 start. At midseason,

Tyrone Hill Tyrone Hill (born March 19, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Atlanta Hawks. Hill spent four years playing collegiately at Xavier University, in his l ...

was released to free agency and re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially 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 Atlan ...

, while Bimbo Coles was also released and signed with the

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 Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 17–65 record, last place in the Eastern Conference and tied for the worst record in the NBA along with the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. It was also the team's worst record since the 1981–82 season. Despite their awful season, Ricky Davis showed improvement averaging 20.6 points, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Center

Zydrunas Ilgauskas Zydrunas Ilgauskas (; ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association from 1997 to ...

averaged 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and was selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, while Boozer made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, averaging 10.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Wagner averaged 13.4 points per game, but only played just 47 games due to a knee injury. Following the season, Jumaine Jones was traded to the

Offseason

Free agents

Trades

Draft picks

Roster

Note

Bold = All-Star selection

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

October

Record: 1–1; Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1

November

Record: 1–15; Home: 1–6; Road: 0–9

December

Record: 4–11; Home: 4–6; Road: 0–5

January

Record: 3–11; Home: 1–3; Road: 2–8

February

Record: 2–9; Home: 2–5; Road: 0–4

March

Record: 3–12; Home: 3–5; Road: 0–7

April

Record: 3–6; Home: 3–2; Road: 0–4 * Green background indicates win. * Red background indicates loss.

Player stats

Regular season

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development League

References

External links

*
Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 Cleveland Cavaliers Season Cleveland Cavaliers seasons Cleve Cleve