2002–03 Detroit Pistons season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the Pistons' 62nd season as a franchise, the 55th in the National Basketball Association, and the 46th in the Detroit area.^[1] During the off-season, the Pistons acquired Richard Hamilton from the Washington Wizards,^[2][3][4] and signed free agent Chauncey Billups.^[5][6] With the acquisitions of Hamilton and Billups, the Pistons got off to a solid start winning 12 of their first 16 games, and held a 32–15 record at the All-Star break.^[7] However, the team suffered a 7-game losing streak between February and March, but managed to finish first place in the Eastern Conference with a 50–32 record, which tied the 1977 Philadelphia 76ers for the worst record by a number one-seeded team in the history of the league.^[8] The Pistons were the only team in the Eastern Conference with 50 or more wins this season.

2002–03 Detroit Pistons season
Division champions
Head coach	Rick Carlisle
President	Joe Dumars
General manager	Joe Dumars
Owner(s)	Bill Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Eastern Conference finals (lost to Nets 0–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Net Detroit WKBD
Radio	WDFN
< 2001–02 2003–04 >

Ben Wallace averaged 6.9 points, 15.4 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game, and was voted to play in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career.^[9] He also won the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second year in a row,^[10][11] and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, and also finished in eighth place in Most Valuable Player voting.^[12] In addition, Hamilton led the team in scoring averaging 19.7 points per game, while Billups provided them with 16.2 points and 3.9 assists per game, Clifford Robinson contributed 12.2 points per game, and sixth man Corliss Williamson provided with 12.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game off the bench.^[13]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pistons faced elimination trailing 3–1 to the 8th-seeded Orlando Magic,^[14][15] but managed to win the next three games, thus the series.^[16][17][18] In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the Pistons defeated Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in six games, and were a serious title contender, reaching the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 1991.^[19][20][21] Instead, they had their season ended with a sweep to the 2nd-seeded New Jersey Nets in four straight Eastern Conference Final games.^[22][23][24] The Nets would reach the Finals for the second consecutive year, but would lose in six games to the San Antonio Spurs.^[25][26][27]

Following the season, Pistons head coach Rick Carlisle was fired after just two seasons with the team and was replaced by Larry Brown, who had resigned from the 76ers' head coaching position on Memorial Day.^[28][29] Carlisle would go on to coach the Indiana Pacers as he replaced Isiah Thomas, who was fired after failing to reach the second round for three consecutive seasons in the playoffs.^[30] Also following the season, Robinson was traded to the Golden State Warriors,^[31][32] while three-point specialist Jon Barry signed as a free agent with the Denver Nuggets,^[33] and Michael Curry was dealt to the Toronto Raptors.

Draft picks

Main article: 2002 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	23	Tayshaun Prince	SF	United States	Kentucky

Roster

2002–03 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 7 Chucky Atkins 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1974–08–14 South Florida G 20 Jon Barry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1969–07–25 Georgia Tech G 1 Chauncey Billups 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1976–09–25 Colorado G/F 12 Michael Curry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1968–08–22 Georgia Southern G 44 Hubert Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1970–05–17 North Carolina G 32 Richard Hamilton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1978–02–14 Connecticut F 5 Danny Manning 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1966–05–17 Kansas F/C 13 Mehmet Okur 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 290 lb (132 kg) 1979–05–26 Turkey F 22 Tayshaun Prince 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1980–02–28 Kentucky C 39 Željko Rebrača 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1972–04–09 Serbia F 52 Don Reid 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1973–12–30 Georgetown F 30 Clifford Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut G 6 Pepe Sánchez 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1977–05–08 Temple F/C 3 Ben Wallace 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1974–09–10 Virginia Union F 34 Corliss Williamson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1973–12–04 Arkansas

Head coach Rick Carlisle Assistant(s) Tony Brown Kevin O'Neill Bob Ociepka Chad Forcier Mike Abdenour (trainer) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: February 5, 2003

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

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

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

Playoffs

2003 playoff game log
First Round: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 20 Orlando L 94–99 Richard Hamilton (28) Ben Wallace (13) Chauncey Billups (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,261 0–1 2 April 23 Orlando W 89–77 Richard Hamilton (30) Ben Wallace (16) Richard Hamilton (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 1–1 3 April 25 @ Orlando L 80–89 Richard Hamilton (22) Ben Wallace (22) Chauncey Billups (5) TD Waterhouse Centre 17,283 1–2 4 April 27 @ Orlando L 92–100 Chauncey Billups (25) Ben Wallace (24) Barry, Billups (3) TD Waterhouse Centre 17,283 1–3 5 April 30 Orlando W 98–67 Richard Hamilton (24) Ben Wallace (21) Billups, Robinson (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 2–3 6 May 2 @ Orlando W 103–88 Chauncey Billups (40) Ben Wallace (17) Chauncey Billups (4) TD Waterhouse Centre 16,909 3–3 7 May 4 Orlando W 108–93 Chauncey Billups (37) Ben Wallace (12) Michael Curry (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 4–3
Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 6 Philadelphia W 98–87 Richard Hamilton (25) Ben Wallace (12) Billups, Robinson (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 1–0 2 May 8 Philadelphia W 104–97 (OT) Atkins, Hamilton (23) Ben Wallace (15) Richard Hamilton (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 2–0 3 May 10 @ Philadelphia L 83–93 Richard Hamilton (24) Mehmet Okur (10) Billups, Robinson (4) First Union Center 20,743 2–1 4 May 11 @ Philadelphia L 82–95 Richard Hamilton (30) Ben Wallace (15) three players tied (3) First Union Center 20,549 2–2 5 May 14 Philadelphia W 78–77 Richard Hamilton (20) Ben Wallace (17) Atkins, Hamilton (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 3–2 6 May 16 @ Philadelphia W 93–89 (OT) Chauncey Billups (28) Ben Wallace (18) Chauncey Billups (5) First Union Center 20,888 4–2
Conference finals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 18 New Jersey L 74–76 Richard Hamilton (24) Ben Wallace (22) Chauncey Billups (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 0–1 2 May 20 New Jersey L 86–88 Richard Hamilton (24) Ben Wallace (19) Chauncey Billups (10) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 0–2 3 May 22 @ New Jersey L 85–97 Richard Hamilton (21) Ben Wallace (15) five players tied (3) Continental Airlines Arena 19,923 0–3 4 May 24 @ New Jersey L 82–102 Clifford Robinson (21) Ben Wallace (13) Chauncey Billups (6) Continental Airlines Arena 19,923 0–4
2003 schedule

Player statistics

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%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chucky Atkins	65	7	21.5	.361	.355	.816	1.5	2.7	0.4	0.1	7.1
Jon Barry	80	0	18.4	.450	.407	.860	2.3	2.6	0.8	0.2	6.9
Chauncey Billups	74	74	31.4	.421	.392	.878	3.7	3.9	0.9	0.2	16.2
Michael Curry	78	77	19.9	.402	.296	.800	1.6	1.3	0.6	0.1	3.0
Hubert Davis	43	1	7.6	.392	.333	.833	0.8	0.7	0.1	0.0	1.8
Richard Hamilton	82	82	32.2	.443	.269	.833	3.9	2.5	0.8	0.2	19.7
Danny Manning	13	0	6.8	.406	.375	.833	1.4	0.5	0.7	0.2	2.6
Mehmet Okur	72	9	19.0	.426	.339	.773	4.7	1.0	0.3	0.5	6.9
Tayshaun Prince	42	5	10.4	.449	.426	.647	1.1	0.6	0.2	0.3	3.3
Željko Rebrača	30	12	16.3	.552	----	.792	3.1	0.3	0.2	0.6	6.6
Don Reid	1	0	10.0	.000	---	.500	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Clifford Robinson	81	69	34.9	.398	.336	.676	3.9	3.3	1.1	1.1	12.2
Pepe Sánchez	9	0	4.1	.000	---	----	0.7	0.9	0.6	0.0	0.0
Ben Wallace	73	73	39.4	.481	.167	.450	15.4	1.6	1.4	3.2	6.9
Corliss Williamson	82	1	25.1	.453	.182	.790	4.4	1.3	0.5	0.3	12.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chucky Atkins	17	3	18.4	.352	.367	.808	1.2	1.5	1.0	.0	6.1
Jon Barry	14	0	12.3	.426	.455	1.000	1.7	1.4	.6	.1	5.0
Chauncey Billups	14	14	34.6	.374	.310	.933	3.4	4.7	.6	.1	18.0
Michael Curry	15	14	18.3	.364	.333	.857	1.1	1.1	.5	.1	2.7
Richard Hamilton	17	17	38.8	.442	.333	.906	3.9	2.6	.8	.1	22.5
Danny Manning	4	0	3.5	.333	.000		.8	.0	.0	.3	.5
Mehmet Okur	17	0	19.0	.438	.538	.531	4.1	.8	.7	.7	5.5
Tayshaun Prince	15	3	25.5	.426	.292	.763	3.8	1.5	.5	.9	9.4
Željko Rebrača	4	0	7.3	.353		.714	1.3	.0	.0	.0	4.3
Clifford Robinson	17	17	30.9	.358	.373	.595	2.7	2.9	.9	.8	9.3
Ben Wallace	17	17	42.5	.486	.000	.446	16.3	1.6	2.5	3.1	8.9
Corliss Williamson	15	0	15.5	.411		.741	2.2	1.0	.3	.2	7.8

Awards and records

• Ben Wallace, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
• Joe Dumars, NBA Executive of the Year Award
• Ben Wallace, All-NBA Second Team
• Ben Wallace, NBA All-Defensive First Team

Transactions

Trades

September 11, 2002

To Washington Wizards Brian Cardinal Jerry Stackhouse Ratko Varda

To Detroit Pistons Hubert Davis Richard Hamilton Bobby Simmons

October 1, 2002

To Denver Nuggets Rodney White

To Detroit Pistons Mengke Bateer Don Reid 2004 first-round pick

October 3, 2002

To San Antonio Spurs Mengke Bateer

To Detroit Pistons 2003 second-round pick

Free agents

Additions
Player	Date signed	Former team
Chauncey Billups	July 17	Minnesota Timberwolves
Pepe Sánchez	October 10	Panathinaikos
Danny Manning	February 5	Dallas Mavericks

Subtractions
Player	Date signed	New Team
Mikki Moore	August 5	Boston Celtics
Bobby Simmons	September 24	Washington Wizards

Player Transactions Citation:^[34]