2002–03 Washington Wizards season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the Wizards' 42nd season in the National Basketball Association.[1] During the offseason, the Wizards acquired All-Star guard Jerry Stackhouse from the Detroit Pistons and signed free agents Larry Hughes, Bryon Russell and Charles Oakley. The Wizards got off to a 6–4 start to the season, but then struggled losing six straight games afterwards. The team finished fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 37–45 record, which was the same as the previous season. This marked the final season for All-Star guard Michael Jordan, who retired for the third and final time. He also made his final All-Star appearance in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta. Also following the season, Russell signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, Tyronn Lue signed with the Orlando Magic, and Oakley was released.

2002–03 Washington Wizards season
Head coachDoug Collins
OwnersAbe Pollin
ArenaMCI Center
Results
Record37–45 (.451)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Atlantic)
Conference: 9th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWDCA
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
RadioWTEM

Offseason

NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 11 Jared Jeffries Forward  United States Indiana
1 17 Juan Dixon Guard  United States Maryland
2 38 Rod Grizzard Guard  United States Alabama
2 39 Juan Carlos Navarro Guard  Spain FC Barcelona (Spain)

Roster
Roster listing
2002–03 Washington Wizards roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F/C 5 Brown, Kwame 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Glynn Academy
G 3 Dixon, Juan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Maryland
C 00 Haywood, Brendan 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 268 lb (122 kg) North Carolina
G/F 20 Hughes, Larry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Saint Louis
F 1 Jeffries, Jared  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Indiana
G/F 23 Jordan, Michael 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) North Carolina
F/C 44 Laettner, Christian 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Duke
G 10 Lue, Tyronn 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nebraska
F/C 34 Oakley, Charles 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Virginia Union
F 2 Russell, Bryon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Long Beach
G/F 21 Simmons, Bobby 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) DePaul
G/F 42 Stackhouse, Jerry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) North Carolina
F/C 36 Thomas, Etan  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Syracuse
F/C 55 White, Jahidi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Georgetown
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Michael Jordan
Jordan during warm-ups for the last Wizards home game, on April 13, 2003. The jersey is a throwback to the Washington Bullets uniforms.

Jordan announced he would return for the 2002–03 season, and this time he was determined to be equipped with reinforcements, as he traded for All-Star Jerry Stackhouse and signed budding star Larry Hughes. Jordan even accepted a sixth-man role on the bench in order for his knee to survive the rigors of an 82-game season. However, a combination of numerous team injuries and uninspired play led to Jordan's return to the starting lineup, where he tried to rebound the franchise from its early-season struggles. The move led to mixed results, as several of Jordan's younger teammates complained about playing in Jordan's shadow and his unfair expectations of them.[2] By the end of the season, the Wizards finished with a 37-45 record once again. Jordan ended the season as the only Wizard to play in all 82 games, as he averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 37.0 minutes per game.

After the season, Wizards' majority owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as team president, much to the shock of teammates, associates, and the public. Michael Jordan felt he was betrayed, thinking that he would get his ownership back after his playing days ended, but Pollin justified Jordan's dismissal by noting that Jordan had detrimental effects on the team, such as benching Larry Hughes for Tyronn Lue, making poor trades, and squandering the teams' 2001 1st round draft pick on high schooler Kwame Brown who never panned out. Without Michael in the fold the following year, the Washington Wizards were not expected to win, and they didn't. Despite the signing of future All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas, which had been made possible by Jordan's previous cap-clearing maneuvers as a team executive, the team stumbled to a 25-57 record in the 2003-04 season.

Jordan's stint with the Washington Wizards was closely watched by both fans and the media. While the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in either of Jordan's two seasons as a player, the team was competitive and sold-out arenas around the league.[3]

The Wizards replaced Jordan's managerial role with General Manager Ernie Grunfeld. Though the organization fielded a competitive team built around Gilbert Arenas for several years, the team again stumbled into the lower echelon of the league in the years following Arenas' numerous off the court issues.

Regular season
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New Jersey Nets 4933.598–33–816–2516–8
x-Philadelphia 76ers 4834.585125–1623–1817–7
x-Boston Celtics 4438.537525–1619–2213–12
x-Orlando Magic 4240.512726–1516–2514–11
Washington Wizards 3745.4511223–1814–2711–13
New York Knicks 3745.4511224–1713–289–15
Miami Heat 2557.3052416–259–325–19
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Detroit Pistons5032.610–
2 y-New Jersey Nets4933.5981
3 x-Indiana Pacers4834.5852
4 x-Philadelphia 76ers4834.5852
5 x-New Orleans Hornets4735.5733
6 x-Boston Celtics4438.5376
7 x-Milwaukee Bucks4240.5128
8 x-Orlando Magic4240.5128
9 New York Knicks3745.45113
10 Washington Wizards3745.45113
11 Atlanta Hawks3547.42715
12 Chicago Bulls3052.36620
13 Miami Heat2557.30525
14 Toronto Raptors2458.29326
15 Cleveland Cavaliers1765.20733

Record vs. opponents
2002-03 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MEM MIA MIL MIN NJN NOH NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA WAS
Atlanta —0–32–24–00–22–01–30–21–12–22–01–11–11–32–20–21–32–21–32–13–10–20–21–11–11–11–31–12–2
Boston 3–0—2–24–00–21–12–21–10–22–22–01–12–02–21–22–01–33–14–03–22–20–21–10–20–22–01–21–11–3
Chicago 2–22–2—3–10–21–10–41–11–12–20–21–11–11–22–20–22–21–32–11–31–31–11–10–20–20–22–21–11–3
Cleveland 0–40–41–3—0–21–10–41–11–10–42–01–10–21–20–40–22–21–31–20–40–40–20–20–20–21–13–11–10–4
Dallas 2–02–02–02–0—4–02–04–04–01–14–01–34–02–00–22–22–02–02–01–12–02–22–21–32–22–22–02–22–0
Denver 0–21–11–11–10–4—0–20–40–41–11–30–42–22–01–10–40–20–20–20–20–21–32–20–41–31–31–10–41–1
Detroit 3–12–24–04–00–22–0—1–12–02–21–11–12–03–11–31–12–12–22–22–12–21–10–21–10–21–13–12–03–1
Golden State 2–01–11–11–10–44–01–1—1–31–12–22–22–21–10–21–31–11–12–01–12–02–20–40–41–32–22–02–22–0
Houston 1–12–01–11–10–44–00–23–1—1–12–22–23–11–11–12–21–11–10–22–02–03–11–32–21–32–22–01–31–1
Indiana 2–22–22–24–01–11–12–21–11–1—2–00–21–14–03–12–01–23–13–12–12–21–10–20–20–22–03–11–12–2
L.A. Clippers 0–20–22–00–20–43–11–12–22–20–2—0–42–22–01–11–31–11–11–11–10–21–31–31–31–31–31–11–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–11–13–14–01–12–22–22–04–0—4–01–12–02–20–21–11–11–11–13–12–22–20–42–22–03–11–1
Memphis 1–10–21–12–00–42–20–22–21–31–12–20–4—2–02–00–41–11–11–12–00–21–31–30–41–31–31–11–31–1
Miami 3–12–22–12–10–20–21–31–11–10–40–21–10–2—1–31–10–40–42–20–40–42–00–21–10–20–24–00–21–3
Milwaukee 2–22–12–24–02–01–13–12–01–11–31–10–20–23–1—0–22–22–23–12–22–20–22–00–20–21–12–20–22–1
Minnesota 2–00–22–02–02–24–01–13–12–20–23–12–24–01–12–0—0–21–12–01–11–13–13–12–22–22–21–11–32–0
New Jersey 3–13–12–22–20–22–01–21–11–12–11–12–01–14–02–22–0—2–23–12–21–31–12–00–21–11–14–00–23–1
New Orleans 2–21–33–13–10–22–02–21–11–11–31–11–11–14–02–21–12–2—3–11–32–12–00–21–10–22–04–02–02–1
New York 3–10–41–22–10–22–02–20–22–01–31–11–11–12–21–30–21–31–3—2–22–22–00–21–12–01–13–11–12–2
Orlando 1–22–33–14–01–12–01–21–10–21–21–11–10–24–02–21–12–23–12–2—2–20–20–21–10–22–02–21–12–2
Philadelphia 1–32–23–14–00–22–02–20–20–22–22–01–12–04–02–21–13–11–22–22–2—0–22–00–21–11–13–01–14–0
Phoenix 2–02–01–12–02–23–11–12–21–31–13–11–33–10–22–01–31–10–20–22–02–0—3–12–23–11–31–11–31–1
Portland 2–01–11–12–02–22–22–04–03–12–03–12–23–12–00–21–30–22–02–02–00–21–3—1–32–24–02–01–31–1
Sacramento 1–12–02–02–03–14–01–14–02–22–03–12–24–01–12–02–22–01–11–11–12–02–23–1—1–33–11–13–12–0
San Antonio 1–12–02–02–02–23–12–03–13–12–03–14–03–12–02–02–21–12–00–22–01–11–32–23–1—3–12–04–01–1
Seattle 1–10–22–01–12–23–11–12–22–20–23–12–23–12–01–12–21–10–21–10–21–13–10–41–31–3—2–02–21–1
Toronto 3–12–12–21–30–21–11–30–20–21–31–10–21–10–42–21–10–40–41–32–20–31–10–21–10–20–2—0–23–1
Utah 1–11–11–11–12–24–00–22–23–11–13–11–33–12–02–03–12–00–21–11–11–13–13–11–30–42–22–0—1–1
Washington 2–23–13–14–00–21–11–30–21–12–22–01–11–13–11–20–21–31–22–22–20–41–11–10–21–11–11–31–1—

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MPG= Minutes per Game; STL= Steals; RPG = Rebounds per Game; APG. = Assists per Game; BLK = Blocks; PPG = Points per Game

Player GP MPG STL RPG APG BLK PPG
Jerry Stackhouse70653.74.52821.5
Michael Jordan821236.13.83920.0
Larry Hughes67864.63.12412.8
Tyronn Lue75472.03.518.6
Christian Laettner76826.63.1408.3
Kwame Brown80505.30.7807.4
Juan Dixon42261.71.036.4
Brendan Haywood81325.00.41196.2
Etan Thomas3884.30.1234.8
Bryon Russell70703.01.074.5
Jahidi White1614.60.1124.2
Jared Jeffries2082.90.854.0
Bobby Simmons36102.10.633.3
Anthony Goldwire500.60.202.6
Charles Oakley42132.51.061.8
Brian Cardinal501.00.200.8

Award winners
  • All-Star: Michael Jordan (14th)

References
  1. 2002-03 Washington Wizards
  2. M. Jordan's Legacy Is a Vastly Different Tale of Two Cities
  3. His playing career ends -- with frustration, betrayal and flashes of brilliance
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