2002–03 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the Bucks' 35th season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] For the first time since 1993–94 season, Glenn Robinson was not on the opening day roster. During the off-season, the Bucks acquired Toni Kukoč from the Atlanta Hawks.^[2][3] In a year of transition, the Bucks played mediocre basketball with a 14–20 start, but then won 13 of their next 16 games, and held a 25–23 record at the All-Star break.^[4] In February 2003, just before the trading deadline, the Bucks dealt 3-time All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for 34 year-old All-Star point guard Gary Payton and Desmond Mason.^[5][6][7] The Bucks won eight of their final nine games finishing fourth in the Central Division with a 42–40 record.^[8]

2002–03 Milwaukee Bucks season
Head coach	George Karl
General manager	Ernie Grunfeld
Owner(s)	Herb Kohl
Arena	Bradley Center
Results
Record	42–40 (.512)
Place	Division: 4th (Central) Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Nets 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WCGV-TV Fox Sports Net North (Jim Paschke, Jon McGlocklin)
Radio	WTMJ
< 2001–02 2003–04 >

Sam Cassell averaged 19.7 points and 5.8 assists per game, while Michael Redd continued to show improvement averaging 15.1 points per game, and Tim Thomas provided the team with 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. In addition, Kukoč contributed 11.6 points and 1.3 steals per game off the bench, and Anthony Mason provided 7.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.^[9]

However, the Bucks did not make it out of the first round of the playoffs, losing 2–4 to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference First Round.^[10][11][12] The Nets would reach the Finals for the second consecutive year, but would lose in six games to the San Antonio Spurs.^[13][14][15] Following the season, Payton signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers,^[16][17][18] while Cassell and Ervin Johnson were both traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves,^[19][20] head coach George Karl was fired,^[21][22] and Mason retired.

Draft picks

Main article: 2002 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	13	Marcus Haislip	PF	United States	Tennessee
2	34	Dan Gadzuric	C	Netherlands	UCLA
2	41	Ronald Murray	SG	United States	Shaw
2	47	Chris Owens	PF	United States	Texas

Roster

2002–03 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 35 Jason Caffey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 256 lb (116 kg) 1973–06–12 Alabama G 10 Sam Cassell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1969–11–18 Florida State C 50 Dan Gadzuric 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1978–02–02 UCLA F/C 12 Marcus Haislip 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1980–12–22 Tennessee C 40 Ervin Johnson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1967–12–21 New Orleans F 7 Toni Kukoč 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1968–09–18 Croatia F 17 Anthony Mason 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1966–12–14 Tennessee State G/F 24 Desmond Mason 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1977–10–11 Oklahoma State G 20 Gary Payton 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State C 6 Joel Przybilla 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1979–10–10 Minnesota G/F 22 Michael Redd 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1979–08–24 Ohio State F/C 31 Jamal Sampson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1983–05–13 California F 5 Tim Thomas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1977–02–26 Villanova

Head coach George Karl Assistant(s) Ron Adams Mike McNeive Sam Mitchell Don Newman Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	–	30–11	20–21	19–9
x-Indiana Pacers	48	34	.585	2	32–9	16–25	19–9
x-New Orleans Hornets	47	35	.573	3	29–12	18–23	17–11
x-Milwaukee Bucks	42	40	.512	8	25–16	17–24	16–12
e-Atlanta Hawks	35	47	.427	15	26–15	9–32	14–14
e-Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	20	27–14	3–38	12–16
e-Toronto Raptors	24	58	.293	26	15–26	9–32	10–18
e-Cleveland Cavaliers	17	65	.207	33	14–27	3–38	5–23

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	–
2	y-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	1
3	x-Indiana Pacers	48	34	.585	2
4	x-Philadelphia 76ers	48	34	.585	2
5	x-New Orleans Hornets	47	35	.573	3
6	x-Boston Celtics	44	38	.537	6
7	x-Milwaukee Bucks	42	40	.512	8
8	x-Orlando Magic	42	40	.512	8
9	e-New York Knicks	37	45	.451	13
10	e-Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	13
11	e-Atlanta Hawks	35	47	.427	15
12	e-Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	20
13	e-Miami Heat	25	57	.305	25
14	e-Toronto Raptors	24	58	.293	26
15	e-Cleveland Cavaliers	17	65	.207	33

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	—	0–3	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–0	—	2–2	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–2	2–0	1–3	3–1	4–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	1–3
Chicago	2–2	2–2	—	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3
Cleveland	0–4	0–4	1–3	—	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–4
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	—	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	—	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–4	1–1
Detroit	3–1	2–2	4–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1
Golden State	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1	—	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Houston	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2	3–1	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–3	1–1
Indiana	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	—	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	—	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–1
Memphis	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	—	2–0	2–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Miami	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–3	1–1	0–4	0–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–2	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	—	0–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	2–1
Minnesota	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–0
New Jersey	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	—	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	3–1
New Orleans	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	2–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–1
New York	3–1	0–4	1–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–2
Orlando	1–2	2–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–2
Philadelphia	1–3	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	—	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–1	4–0
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	—	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	—	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–0
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–3	—	2–0	2–2	1–1
Toronto	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	3–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	—	1–1
Washington	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	—

Game log

2002–03 game log Total: 42–40 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
October: 0–1 (home: 0–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 30, 2002 @ Philadelphia L 93–95 First Union Center 19,569 0–1
November: 6–6 (home: 4–2; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 2, 2002 Orlando L 90–100 Michael Redd (17) Toni Kukoc (12) Kevin Ollie (5) Bradley Center 16,713 0–2 3 November 4, 2002 @ New York W 97–88 Dan Gadzuric (10) Madison Square Garden 18,100 1–2 4 November 6, 2002 New Jersey W 99–93 Bradley Center 14,539 2–2 5 November 7, 2002 @ Minnesota L 110–114 Target Center 14,776 2–3 6 November 9, 2002 Philadelphia W 110–105 Bradley Center 16,782 3–3 7 November 13, 2002 Chicago W 108–101 Bradley Center 14,036 4–3 8 November 15, 2002 @ Indiana L 100–103 Conseco Fieldhouse 16,010 4–4 9 November 16, 2002 Boston W 104–85 Bradley Center 18,717 5–4 10 November 19, 2002 Miami L 93–97 Bradley Center 13,632 5–5 11 November 22, 2002 @ Golden State W 95–91 The Arena in Oakland 12,170 6–5 12 November 24, 2002 @ L. A. Lakers L 99–111 STAPLES Center 18,997 6–6 13 November 25, 2002 @ Phoenix L 81–86 America West Arena 12,986 6–7
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
2002–03 schedule

Playoffs

2003 playoff game log
First Round: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 19 @ New Jersey L 96–109 Tim Thomas (25) Desmond Mason (8) Gary Payton (10) Continental Airlines Arena 16,102 0–1 2 April 22 @ New Jersey W 88–85 Gary Payton (22) Anthony Mason (8) Gary Payton (7) Continental Airlines Arena 17,633 1–1 3 April 24 New Jersey L 101–103 Sam Cassell (24) Tim Thomas (11) Gary Payton (8) Bradley Center 17,539 1–2 4 April 26 New Jersey W 119–114 (OT) Toni Kukoč (23) Desmond Mason (8) Gary Payton (14) Bradley Center 18,391 2–2 5 April 29 @ New Jersey L 82–89 Toni Kukoč (18) Desmond Mason (12) Gary Payton (5) Continental Airlines Arena 16,601 2–3 6 May 1 New Jersey L 101–113 Gary Payton (24) Tim Thomas (6) Gary Payton (8) Bradley Center 18,717 2–4
2003 schedule

Player statistics

Source:^[9]

Legend

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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Ray Allen	47	46	35.8	43.7	39.5	91.3	4.6	3.5	1.2	0.2	21.3
Sam Cassell	78	77	34.6	47.0	36.2	86.1	4.4	5.8	1.1	0.2	19.7
Gary Payton	28	28	38.8	46.6	29.4	74.6	3.1	7.4	1.4	0.3	19.6
Michael Redd	82	14	28.2	46.9	43.8	80.5	4.5	1.4	1.2	0.2	15.1
Desmond Mason	28	25	34.0	47.4	29.4	76.5	6.7	2.4	0.7	0.4	14.8
Tim Thomas	80	70	29.5	44.3	36.6	78.0	4.9	1.3	0.9	0.6	13.3
Toni Kukoč	63	0	27.0	43.2	36.1	70.6	4.2	3.7	1.3	0.5	11.6
Anthony Mason	65	58	32.6	48.6	0.0	71.8	6.4	3.2	0.5	0.2	7.2
Jason Caffey	51	16	17.5	45.6	0.0	65.1	3.5	0.7	0.4	0.3	5.8
Kevin Ollie	53	4	21.3	45.9	20.0	74.7	1.9	3.4	0.7	0.1	5.7
Marcus Haislip	39	8	11.3	43.1	25.0	68.4	1.4	0.2	0.2	0.5	4.1
Dan Gadzuric	49	30	15.5	48.3	0.0	51.8	4.0	0.2	0.4	1.1	3.4
Ervin Johnson	69	17	17.0	45.2	0.0	68.2	4.3	0.3	0.5	0.9	2.2
Ronald Murray	12	0	3.5	34.6	0.0	62.5	0.1	0.3	0.3	0.0	1.9
Joel Przybilla	32	17	17.1	39.1	0.0	50.0	4.5	0.4	0.3	1.4	1.5
Jamal Sampson	5	0	1.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Gary Payton	6	6	41.8	42.9	6.7	70.0	3.0	8.7	1.3	0.2	18.5
Tim Thomas	6	5	31.8	46.2	57.1	71.9	4.8	1.3	0.5	1.0	17.8
Sam Cassell	6	6	36.2	47.0	52.4	93.3	3.2	2.7	0.5	0.2	17.2
Toni Kukoč	6	0	30.7	49.2	37.9	70.0	4.2	3.7	2.2	0.2	14.8
Desmond Mason	6	6	34.0	50.9	0.0	71.0	7.0	0.8	1.0	0.7	13.0
Michael Redd	6	0	21.3	40.4	25.0	92.9	3.5	1.8	0.3	0.2	9.7
Marcus Haislip	2	1	12.0	66.7	0.0	50.0	2.0	1.0	1.0	0.5	5.0
Anthony Mason	6	0	26.2	41.2	0.0	69.2	3.3	0.2	0.5	0.2	3.8
Ervin Johnson	6	3	12.7	37.5	0.0	0.0	4.0	0.5	0.5	0.8	1.0
Joel Przybilla	4	3	8.3	100.0	0.0	0.0	2.5	0.3	0.0	0.5	0.5

Awards and records

• George Karl, Coach of the Month in January

Transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Dan Gadzuric Marcus Haislip Ronald Murray Jamal Sampson Via trade Toni Kukoč Desmond Mason Gary Payton Via free agency Kevin Ollie

Players Lost Via trade Ray Allen Ronald Murray Kevin Ollie Glenn Robinson Via free agency Rafer Alston Greg Anthony Greg Foster Darvin Ham Mark Pope

Trades

August 2, 2002	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Toni Kukoč Leon Smith 2003 1st round pick (T. J. Ford)	To Atlanta Hawks---- Glenn Robinson
February 20, 2003	To Milwaukee Bucks---- Desmond Mason Gary Payton	To Seattle SuperSonics---- Ray Allen Ronald Murray Kevin Ollie 2003 1st round pick (Luke Ridnour)

Free agents

Player	Signed	Former team
Kevin Ollie	September 6, 2002	Indiana Pacers
Cedric Henderson	September 25, 2002	Golden State Warriors

Player Transactions Citation:^[23]