2003 NBA Finals
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Dates | June 4–15 | |||||||||
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Western Finals | Spurs defeated Mavericks, 4–2 | |||||||||
The 2003 NBA Finals was the championship round of the
The 2003 Finals documentary was narrated by Rodd Houston, who later narrated three other NBA Finals series.
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, the
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 retired holding Spurs franchise 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.[1] However, the Spurs bounced back to take the series in six games.[2] 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 helped the Spurs win a title two years later). The Spurs eventually disposed of the Lakers in game 6, ending the Lakers' championship run.[3] In the Conference Finals, the Spurs faced their in-state nemesis, the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs started off slow again, losing game 1 by three points, but took control of the series from there, taking the next three straight. After losing game 5 at home 103–91, the Spurs came from 15 points down in the fourth quarter in game 6, as Steve Kerr buried four three-pointers in a row to take the series in six games with a 90–78 win[4] in Dallas, advancing to their second NBA Finals in franchise history.
In the meantime the
2003 NBA playoffs
Road to the Finals
San Antonio Spurs (Western Conference champion) | New Jersey Nets (Eastern Conference champion)
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Regular season |
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Defeated the (8) Phoenix Suns, 4–2 | First Round | Defeated the (7) Milwaukee Bucks, 4–2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defeated the (5) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–2 | Conference Semifinals | Defeated the (6) Boston Celtics, 4–0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defeated the (3) Dallas Mavericks, 4–2 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (1) Detroit Pistons, 4–0 |
Regular season series
Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:
Rosters
San Antonio Spurs
2002–03 San Antonio Spurs roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
New Jersey Nets
2002–03 New Jersey Nets roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Series summary
Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
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Game 1 | June 4 | San Antonio Spurs | 101–89 (1–0) | New Jersey Nets |
Game 2 | June 6 | San Antonio Spurs | 85–87 (1–1) | New Jersey Nets |
Game 3 | June 8 | New Jersey Nets | 79–84 (1–2) | San Antonio Spurs |
Game 4 | June 11 | New Jersey Nets | 77–76 (2–2) | San Antonio Spurs |
Game 5 | June 13 | New Jersey Nets | 83–93 (2–3) | San Antonio Spurs |
Game 6 | June 15 | San Antonio Spurs | 88–77 (4–2) | New Jersey Nets |
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
Game 4 at
This was 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 NBA Finals, all games were played on Thursday–Sunday–Tuesday format until 2016, when it was changed to allow for two days off each time teams traveled.
Game summaries
- All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time. If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Game 1
June 4
8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
New Jersey Nets 89, San Antonio Spurs 101
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Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 21–24, 17–32, 30–27 | ||
10 | Pts: Tim Duncan 32 Rebs: Tim Duncan 20 Asts: Tim Duncan 6 | |
San Antonio leads the series, 1–0 |
Joe DeRosa |
Game 2
ABC
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June 6
8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
New Jersey Nets 87, San Antonio Spurs 85 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 22–17, 25–21, 21–29 | ||
: Kenyon Martin 4 | Pts: Tony Parker 21 Rebs: Tim Duncan 12 Asts: Tony Parker 5 | |
Series tied, 1–1 |
Game 3
ABC
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June 8
8:30 pm |
San Antonio Spurs 84, New Jersey Nets 79 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 15–21, 18–9, 21–27, 30–22 | ||
: Tim Duncan 7 | Pts: Kenyon Martin 23 Rebs: Kenyon Martin 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 11 | |
San Antonio leads the series, 2–1 |
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey Referees: Ron Garretson, Steve Javie, Jack Nies |
Game 4
ABC
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June 11
8:30 pm |
San Antonio Spurs 76, New Jersey Nets 77 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 18–16, 16–29, 23–11, 19–21 | ||
3 each | Pts: Kenyon Martin 20 Rebs: Kenyon Martin 13 Asts: Jason Kidd 9 | |
Series tied, 2–2 |
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Referees: Mike Callahan, Eddie Rush |
Game 5
ABC
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June 13
8:30 pm |
San Antonio Spurs 93, New Jersey Nets 83 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 23–16, 24–23, 27–26 | ||
: Duncan, Parker 4 each | Pts: Jason Kidd 29 Rebs: Kenyon Martin 9 Asts: Jason Kidd 7 | |
San Antonio leads the series, 3–2 |
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Referees: Dick Bavetta, Joe Crawford, Bennett Salvatore |
Game 6
ABC
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June 15
8:30 pm (7:30 pm CDT) |
New Jersey Nets 77, San Antonio Spurs 88 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 25–17, 16–21, 22–19, 14–31 | ||
: Jason Kidd 7 | Pts: Tim Duncan 21 Rebs: Tim Duncan 20 Asts: Tim Duncan 10 | |
San Antonio wins the NBA Finals, 4–2 |
SBC Center, San Antonio, Texas
Referees: Dan Crawford, Bob Delaney, Ron Garretson |
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 Duncan, often allowing him to find open teammates.
Nets point guard Jason Kidd, second to 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 to sign 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 visited San Antonio and spoke 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 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
Duncan became the 8th player in NBA history to win the Finals MVP award a second time. He joined the list of
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 were named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated for 2003.
- This series marked 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
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
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- San Antonio Spurs
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Bruce Bowen | 6 | 6 | 28.5 | .233 | .286 | 1.000 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 3.3 |
Speedy Claxton | 6 | 0 | 12.5 | .560 | .000 | .750 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 6.2 |
Tim Duncan | 6 | 6 | 43.8 | .495 | .000 | .685 | 17.0 | 5.3 | 1.0 | 5.3 | 24.2 |
Danny Ferry | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Manu Ginóbili | 6 | 0 | 28.7 | .348 | .214 | .810 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 8.7 |
Stephen Jackson | 6 | 6 | 35.5 | .377 | .357 | .500 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 10.3 |
Steve Kerr | 4 | 0 | 5.0 | .750 | 1.000 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Tony Parker | 6 | 6 | 35.3 | .386 | .429 | .609 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 14.0 |
David Robinson |
6 | 6 | 26.8 | .611 | .000 | .700 | 7.3 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.8 | 10.8 |
Malik Rose | 6 | 0 | 21.2 | .442 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 7.7 |
Steve Smith | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Kevin Willis | 5 | 0 | 4.4 | .333 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
- New Jersey Nets
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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Jason Collins | 6 | 6 | 25.2 | .333 | .000 | .800 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 3.7 |
Lucious Harris | 6 | 0 | 20.8 | .306 | .333 | .789 | 2.7 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 6.5 |
Richard Jefferson | 6 | 6 | 38.2 | .417 | .000 | .792 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 13.2 |
Anthony Johnson | 5 | 0 | 5.6 | .556 | .500 | .000 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
Jason Kidd | 6 | 6 | 44.2 | .364 | .270 | .833 | 6.2 | 7.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 19.7 |
Kerry Kittles | 6 | 6 | 31.3 | .377 | .304 | .800 | 4.2 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 10.8 |
Kenyon Martin | 6 | 6 | 37.5 | .343 | .000 | .667 | 10.0 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 14.7 |
Dikembe Mutombo | 6 | 0 | 13.7 | .500 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
Rodney Rogers | 6 | 0 | 12.3 | .323 | .375 | .833 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 |
Brian Scalabrine | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Tamar Slay | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Aaron Williams | 5 | 0 | 14.2 | .423 | .000 | .750 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 5.6 |
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 took over and led 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 lost to the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons in seven games of the conference semifinals. As of the 2023–24 season[update], the 2003 Finals remain the Nets' most recent Finals appearance and is their last in New Jersey. The franchise moved to Brooklyn, New York prior to the 2012–13 season. The Nets have also not made the Conference Finals since 2003, having lost five times in the Semifinals, with the last being in 2021.
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 one-year stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. He later won 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 led the Spurs to three more NBA titles in 2005, 2007 and 2014.
Television coverage
The 2003 NBA Finals was the first to be aired on ABC, taking over after a 12-year run on NBC. As part of ESPN’s new media deal with the NBA, ABC's telecasts were produced by ESPN. Until 2007, it 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 playing in the same arena during each series. During ABC's broadcast of game 3, Brad Nessler stated 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.[6][7] Gary Thorne, ESPN/ABC's lead NHL voice, mentioned this the following night and thanked Nessler for promoting ABC's broadcast of game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.[8]
This was the only NBA Finals worked by Nessler and Tolbert, while this was Walton's last Finals assignment. All three were demoted from ABC's lead role after the Finals. Though Nessler remained the lead voice for ESPN's NBA broadcasts for another season, his position at ABC was relegated to a backup role after the network convinced Al Michaels of Monday Night Football fame to take over the lead position. Michaels was later joined by recently deposed Orlando Magic coach Doc Rivers on ABC's lead team.
See also
References
- ^ "2003 NBA Western Conference First Round Game 1: Suns vs Spurs, April 19, 2003". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "2003 NBA Western Conference First Round - Suns vs. Spurs". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "2003 NBA Western Conference Semifinals - Lakers vs. Spurs". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "2003 NBA Western Conference Finals - Mavericks vs. Spurs". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ Lago, Joe (June 12, 2003). "Nets find right tempo to beat Spurs". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
But the Spurs, behind the leadership of backup point guard Speedy Claxton, silenced the sellout crowd of 19,280...
- ^ NBA on ABC: Game 3 of the 2003 NBA Finals (television). June 8, 2003.
- ^ Houston, William (June 11, 2003). "ABC scores big with seventh game after much promotion". The Globe and Mail. p. S2.
- ^ NHL on ABC: Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals (television). ABC Sports. June 9, 2003.