2002–03 Orlando Magic season explained

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 14th season for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Magic signed free agent All-Star forward Shawn Kemp.^{[2] [3]} However, Grant Hill only played just 29 games due to his continuing ankle injuries,^{[4] [5] [6]} and Horace Grant only played just five games with a sore left knee, and was released to free agency after feuding with head coach Doc Rivers.^{[7] [8]} At midseason, the Magic traded Mike Miller to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for rookies Drew Gooden and Gordan Giriček.^{[9] [10]} Despite the absence of Hill and Grant, and a 24–26 record at the All-Star break,^[11] the Magic finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 42–40 record.^[12]

Tracy McGrady won his first scoring title leading the league in scoring with 32.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game per game, as he was named to the All-NBA First Team, and selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.^[13] McGrady also finished in fourth place in Most Valuable Player voting with 4 first-place votes.^{[14] [15]} In addition, Hill averaged 14.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, while Pat Garrity provided the team with 10.7 points per game, Darrell Armstrong contributed 9.4 points, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and Kemp provided with 6.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.^[16] Gooden was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, while Giriček was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Magic took a 3–1 series lead over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons,^{[17] [18]} but went on to lose the next three games, thus the series.^{[19] [20] [21]} Following the season, Kemp retired, while Armstrong signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Hornets,^{[22] [23]} and Grant re-signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.^{[24] [25]}

After the playoff defeat, the Magic entered a state of rebuilding and did not return to the playoffs until 2007.

Draft picks

See main article: 2002 NBA draft.

Roster

Roster Notes

• Small forward Grant Hill played 29 games (his last game being on January 16, 2003) but missed the rest of the season and the playoffs due to having left ankle problems. He was placed on the injured list on January 18, 2003 and underwent season-ending surgery in March 2003.^{[5] [26]}

Regular season

Season standings

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

2002-03 NBA Records
width=100	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
	—	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 1| April 20| @ Detroit| W 99–94| Tracy McGrady (43)| Drew Gooden (15)| Jacque Vaughn (6)| The Palace of Auburn Hills
21,261| 1–0|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| April 23| @ Detroit| L 77–89| Tracy McGrady (46)| Drew Gooden (11)| Jacque Vaughn (6)| The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076| 1–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 3| April 25| Detroit| W 89–80| Tracy McGrady (29)| Gooden, McGrady (7)| Darrell Armstrong (8)| TD Waterhouse Centre
17,283| 2–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 4| April 27| Detroit| W 100–92| Tracy McGrady (27)| Drew Gooden (13)| Tracy McGrady (9)| TD Waterhouse Centre
17,283| 3–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| April 30| @ Detroit| L 67–98| Tracy McGrady (19)| Drew Gooden (15)| Tracy McGrady (4)| The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076| 3–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 6| May 2| Detroit| L 88–103| Tracy McGrady (37)| Drew Gooden (12)| Tracy McGrady (5)| TD Waterhouse Centre
16,909| 3–3|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 7| May 4| @ Detroit| L 93–108| Tracy McGrady (21)| Drew Gooden (17)| Tracy McGrady (6)| The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076| 3–4|-

Player statistics

Ragular season

Player
	PG	82	23	2,350	295	323	135	13	769	28.7	3.6	3.9	1.6	.2	9.4
	PF	81	53	2,584	306	121	62	20	868	31.9	3.8	1.5	.8	.2	10.7
	PG	80	48	1,686	118	232	64	2	473	21.1	1.5	2.9	.8	.0	5.9
	C	79	55	1,633	451	55	66	33	537	20.7	5.7	.7	.8	.4	6.8
	C	77	21	1,327	339	52	39	36	365	17.2	4.4	.7	.5	.5	4.7
	SG	75	74	2,954	488	411	124	59	2,407	39.4	6.5	5.5	1.7	.8	32.1
	SG	75	4	1,025	184	65	45	12	194	13.7	2.5	.9	.6	.2	2.6
	C	62	8	783	146	23	19	25	267	12.6	2.4	.4	.3	.4	4.3
^†	SF	49	39	1,826	286	139	36	16	806	37.3	5.8	2.8	.7	.3	16.4
^†	PF	35	1	322	69	7	4	16	64	9.2	2.0	.2	.1	.5	1.8
	C	33	5	447	93	6	9	36	130	13.5	2.8	.2	.3	1.1	3.9
	SF	29	29	843	206	122	28	13	421	29.1	7.1	4.2	1.0	.4	14.5
^†	SF	27	27	961	130	67	30	2	387	35.6	4.8	2.5	1.1	.1	14.3
	C	27	3	145	50	5	5	3	27	5.4	1.9	.2	.2	.1	1.0
^†	PG	22	1	290	21	21	12	1	78	13.2	1.0	1.0	.5	.0	3.5
^†	PF	19	18	544	160	20	15	13	259	28.6	8.4	1.1	.8	.7	13.6
	PF	5	1	85	8	7	3	0	26	17.0	1.6	1.4	.6	.0	5.2

Playoffs

Player
	SG	7	7	308	47	33	14	6	222	44.0	6.7	4.7	2.0	.9	31.7
	PF	7	7	234	89	4	3	6	98	33.4	12.7	.6	.4	.9	14.0
	SF	7	7	223	22	7	2	1	66	31.9	3.1	1.0	.3	.1	9.4
	PG	7	6	131	6	25	4	1	34	18.7	.9	3.6	.6	.1	4.9
	C	7	6	104	23	2	2	5	28	14.9	3.3	.3	.3	.7	4.0
	PG	7	1	226	17	26	6	0	66	32.3	2.4	3.7	.9	.0	9.4
	PF	7	1	163	18	5	2	3	28	23.3	2.6	.7	.3	.4	4.0
	PG	7	0	111	11	7	2	2	22	15.9	1.6	1.0	.3	.3	3.1
	C	7	0	72	15	0	0	0	21	10.3	2.1	.0	.0	.0	3.0
	C	7	0	40	3	1	0	3	6	5.7	.4	.1	.0	.4	.9
	C	6	0	43	11	1	1	0	17	7.2	1.8	.2	.2	.0	2.8
	SG	6	0	25	5	1	1	1	5	4.2	.8	.2	.2	.2	.8

Awards and honors

• Tracy McGrady – All-NBA 1st Team, Scoring Champion, All-Star
• Drew Gooden – All-Rookie 1st Team
• Gordan Giriček – All-Rookie 2nd Team

Transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Ryan Humphrey Via trade Gordan Giricek Drew Gooden Via free agency Shawn Kemp Olumide Oyedeji Jacque Vaughn

Players Lost Via trade Ryan Humphrey Mike Miller Don Reid Via free agency Troy Hudson Monty Williams

Player Transactions Citation:^[27]

Notes and References

1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ORL/2003.html 2002-03 Orlando Magic
2. News: Associated Press . PLUS: BASKETBALL; Magic Takes Chance and Signs Kemp . The New York Times . September 6, 2002 . October 27, 2022.
3. News: Brewer . Jerry . Magic Sign 'Big' Kemp . Orlando Sentinel . September 6, 2002 . December 31, 2021.
4. News: Brewer . Jerry . Hill Completes Practice; Status Still Questionable . Orlando Sentinel . January 10, 2003 . October 27, 2022.
5. News: Grant Hill Sidelined Again . United Press International . January 18, 2003 . June 13, 2022.
6. News: Nichols . Rachel . Hill May Undergo More Surgery . The Washington Post . February 20, 2003 . November 28, 2022.
7. News: Brewer . Jerry . Magic Look to the Real Games . Orlando Sentinel . October 25, 2002 . October 27, 2022.
8. News: Schmitz . Brian . Showdown in Midair Got Ugly . Orlando Sentinel . December 13, 2002 . October 27, 2022.
9. News: Magic Trades Miller for Grizzlies' Gooden . The Washington Post . February 20, 2003 . September 13, 2022.
10. News: Schmitz . Brian . Magic Trade Miller, Get 2 Rookies . Orlando Sentinel . February 20, 2003 . June 13, 2022.
11. News: NBA Games Played on February 6, 2003 . Basketball-Reference . September 13, 2022.
12. Web site: 2002–03 Orlando Magic Schedule and Results. Basketball-Reference. March 25, 2022.
13. News: 2003 NBA All-Star Game: West 155, East 145 (2OT) . Basketball-Reference . January 13, 2022.
14. News: Teaford . Elliott . Duncan to Win Second MVP in a Row . Los Angeles Times . May 4, 2003 . September 13, 2022.
15. News: 2002–03 NBA Awards Voting . Basketball-Reference . June 13, 2022.
16. Web site: 2002–03 Orlando Magic Roster and Stats. Basketball-Reference. June 13, 2022.
17. News: Nobles . Charlie . PRO BASKETBALL; Magic Nearing Upset of Pistons . The New York Times . April 28, 2003 . June 11, 2022.
18. News: Magic Takes 3-1 Lead in Series . The Washington Post . April 28, 2003 . October 27, 2022.
19. News: Lapointe . Joe . PRO BASKETBALL; Pistons Thank the N.B.A. for Those Two Extra Games . The New York Times . May 5, 2003 . January 13, 2022.
20. News: Associated Press . Pistons Get Past the Magic . Los Angeles Times . May 5, 2003 . June 11, 2022.
21. News: Schmitz . Brian . Magic Fall Flat . Orlando Sentinel . May 5, 2003 . November 27, 2022.
22. News: Schmitz . Brian . Peeved Armstrong Headed to Hornets . Orlando Sentinel . July 26, 2003 . October 27, 2022.
23. News: Hornets Ink Darrell Armstrong . United Press International . July 29, 2003 . June 12, 2022.
24. News: Teaford . Elliott . Madsen Is Gone as Grant Returns . Los Angeles Times . July 29, 2003 . October 27, 2022.
25. News: Brown . Tim . Grant Quickly Gets Into Game Shape . Los Angeles Times . November 25, 2003 . July 14, 2022.
26. Web site: Tim Stephens. Grant Hill Timeline. Orlando Sentinel. July 6, 2007. May 2, 2021.
27. Web site: 2002–03 Orlando Magic Transactions. Basketball-Reference. January 13, 2022.