2002–03 Detroit Pistons season

2002–03 Detroit Pistons season
Division Champions
Head coach	Rick Carlisle
General manager	Joe Dumars
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost in East Conference Finals to New Jersey (0–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 2002–03 Detroit Pistons season was the 62nd season of the franchise, the 55th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 46th in the Detroit area.

Before the season, the Pistons were dealt with a cruel blow, trading away Jerry Stackhouse to the Washington Wizards for Richard Hamilton. They also acquired Chauncey Billups.

The Pistons stayed at 50-32, earning them first place in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Orlando Magic, and Philadelphia 76ers in the first two rounds, the Pistons were a serious title contender[citation needed]. Instead, they had their season ended with a sweep to the New Jersey Nets in four straight Eastern Conference Final games.

Ben Wallace was voted to play in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career. He also won Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

Following the season, Pistons head coach Rick Carlisle was fired after spending only two seasons with the team.

Draft picks

Main article: 2002 NBA Draft

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

Roster

Detroit Pistons roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 7 Atkins, Chucky 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) South Florida G 20 Barry, Jon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Georgia Tech G 1 Billups, Chauncey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Colorado F 12 Curry, Michael 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Georgia Southern G 44 Davis, Hubert 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina G/F 32 Hamilton, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Connecticut F 5 Manning, Danny 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kansas C 13 Okur, Mehmet 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Turkey F 22 Prince, Tayshaun 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kentucky C 39 Rebrača, Željko 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 257 lb (117 kg) Serbia F 52 Reid, Don 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Georgetown F/C 30 Robinson, Cliff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Connecticut G 6 Sánchez, Pepe 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Temple F/C 3 Wallace, Ben 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Virginia Union F 34 Williamson, Corliss 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Arkansas	Head coach Rick Carlisle Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Note

Bold = All-Star selection

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	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
Atlanta Hawks	35	47	.427	15	26–15	9–32	14–14
Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	20	27–14	3–38	12–16
Toronto Raptors	24	58	.293	26	15–26	9–32	10–18
Cleveland Cavaliers	17	65	.207	33	14–27	3–38	5–23

#	Eastern Conference
	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	New York Knicks	37	45	.451	13
9	Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	13
11	Atlanta Hawks	35	47	.427	15
12	Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	20
13	Miami Heat	25	57	.305	25
14	Toronto Raptors	24	58	.293	26
15	Cleveland Cavaliers	17	65	.207	33

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Orlando Magic Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Eastern Conference First Round (Orlando won 3-0)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (ORL-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	April 20	Orlando	99	Detroit	94	1-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 12:30et	Recap
2	April 23	Orlando	77	Detroit	89	1-1	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	NBA TV 8:00et	Recap
3	April 25	Detroit	80	Orlando	89	2-1	TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
4	April 27	Orlando	100	Detroit	92	3-1	TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando	ESPN 5:30et	Recap
5	April 30	Orlando	67	Detroit	98	3-2	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	NBA TV 7:30et	Recap
6	May 2	Detroit	103	Orlando	88	3–3	TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando	NBA TV 7:30et	Recap
7	May 4	Orlando	93	Detroit	108	3–4	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 12:30et	Recap
Detroit wins series 4–3

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Philadelphia 76ers Last Playoff Meeting: 1955 NBA Finals (Syracuse Nationals, the predecessor to the 76ers, won 4-3 over the Pistons, at the time located in Fort Wayne, Indiana)

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (PHI-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 6	Philadelphia	87	Detroit	98	0–1	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 7:30et	Recap
2*	May 8	Philadelphia	97	Detroit	104	0–2	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 7:00et	Recap
3	May 10	Detroit	83	Philadelphia	93	1–2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
4	May 11	Detroit	82	Philadelphia	95	2–2	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 7:30et	Recap
5	May 14	Philadelphia	77	Detroit	78	2–3	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
6*	May 16	Detroit	93	Philadelphia	89	2–4	First Union Center, Philadelphia	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
Detroit wins series 4–2

*Required overtime.

East Conference Finals

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

Game	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	Score	Record (NJN-DET)	Venue	TV Time	Recap
1	May 18	New Jersey	76	Detroit	74	1-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ABC 1:00et	Recap
2	May 20	New Jersey	88	Detroit	86	2-0	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
3	May 22	Detroit	85	New Jersey	97	3-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ABC 8:00et	Recap
4	May 24	Detroit	82	New Jersey	102	4-0	Continental Airlines Arena, New Jersey	ESPN 8:00et	Recap
New Jersey wins Eastern Conference Championship series 4–0

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%	3FG%	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
Zeljko Rebraca	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 Sanchez	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%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chucky Atkins
Jon Barry
Chauncey Billups
Michael Curry
Richard Hamilton
Danny Manning
Mehmet Okur
Tayshaun Prince
Zeljko Rebraca
Clifford Robinson
Ben Wallace
Corliss Williamson

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

See also

• 2002-03 NBA season