2002–03 New Jersey Nets season

The 2002-03 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 36th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They came into the season hoping to improve upon their 52-30 record from the previous season, but they did not, ending the year with a 49-33 record. For the second consecutive year, they made it to the NBA Finals. However, they lost to the Spurs in a six-game series.

Offseason

On August 1, the Nets signed G Chris Childs as a free agent. Five days later, the organization traded C Todd MacCulloch and F Keith Van Horn to the Philadelphia 76ers for C Dikembe Mutombo. On August 14, the Nets signed F Rodney Rogers as a free agent. On October 25, they signed G Anthony Johnson as a free agent. Their final offseason transaction would come three days later, when they waived F Donny Marshall.

Standings

Roster

New Jersey Nets roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From 2.0 !SG 1 USA ! Armstrong, Brandon style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Pepperdine 6.0 !C 35 USA ! Collins, Jason style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Stanford 2.0 !SG 12 USA ! Harris, Lucious style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Long Beach State 3.0 !SF 24 USA ! Jefferson, Richard style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Arizona 1.0 !PG 2 USA ! Johnson, Anthony style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) College of Charleston 1.0 !PG 5 USA ! Kidd, Jason style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) California 2.0 !SG 30 USA ! Kittles, Kerry style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Villanova 3.0 !SF 13 USA ! Marshall, Donny style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Connecticut 4.5 !PF 6 USA ! Martin, Kenyon style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Cincinnati 6.0 !C 55 COD ! Mutombo, Dikembe style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 86 !7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Georgetown 3.0 !SF 54 USA ! Rogers, Rodney style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Wake Forest 4.5 !PF 21 USA ! Scalabrine, Brian style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) Southern California 2.0 !SG 8 USA ! Slay, Tamar style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Marshall 6.0 !C 34 USA ! Williams, Aaron style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; | 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Xavier	Head coach Byron Scott Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth Chart

Transactions

Trades

Free Agents

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) New Jersey Nets vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Eastern Conference First Round (Milwaukee won 3-0)

*Required overtime.

East Conference Semifinals

(2) New Jersey Nets vs. (6) Boston Celtics Last Playoff Meeting: 2002 Eastern Conference Finals (New Jersey won 4-2)

East Conference Finals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) New Jersey Nets Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Eastern Conference First Round (Detroit won 3-0)

NBA Finals

(W1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) New Jersey Nets Last Playoff Meeting: 1976 ABA Semifinals (Nets won 4-3; they were based in Uniondale, New York)

Awards and records

• Jason Kidd, All-NBA Second Team
• Jason Kidd, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Jason Kidd, NBA All-Star

References

• New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference