2002-03 NBA Season
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50 free 2002-03 NBA Season trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The 2002-03 NBA season was a year of endings and arrivals. One of the game's greatest players said goodbye for good, a dynasty's run of titles was stopped in the second round, and a draft class from around the world started to change what the league looked like. This quiz follows the whole campaign, from draft night to the last game of the Finals. Expect questions on the award winners, the rookies, All-Star Weekend, the scoring feats, the trades and injuries that shaped the standings, a franchise in a new city and the upsets and near-upsets of the playoffs. It is written for fans who watched that year and want to see what stuck, and for quiz hosts who need accurate questions with answers. Every question comes with a short explanation, so even a wrong guess leaves you with a story from the season.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which player won a second straight NBA MVP award in 2002–03 and then added the Finals MVP trophy?
Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan averaged 23.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks a game, and made both the All-NBA and All-Defensive first teams. His Spurs then won every playoff series in six games.
Q 02Which NBA legend received a three-minute standing ovation in Philadelphia during his final game in April 2003?
Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan, 40 and playing for the Washington Wizards, was cheered by teammates, opponents, officials and 21,257 fans. It was his third and final retirement.
Q 03Which rookie outpolled the reigning three-time Finals MVP for a starting spot in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game?
Yao Ming
Yao Ming drew nearly a quarter of a million more votes and became the first rookie All-Star starter in eight years. Houston had made the 7-foot-6 center the first overall pick.
Q 04Which Ohio high school star did Cleveland select first overall after winning the 2003 NBA draft lottery?
LeBron James
LeBron James was the prize after Cleveland's 17–65 season, which tied for the league's worst record. The Cavaliers held a 22.5 percent chance of landing the top pick.
Q 05Which player set an NBA record by making 12 three-pointers in one game against Seattle in January 2003?
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant hit nine of them in a row and finished with 45 points. A month later he scored 40 or more in nine consecutive games.
Q 06Which veteran center retired as a champion after 13 points and 17 rebounds in the 2003 NBA Finals clincher?
David Robinson
David Robinson, the Admiral, had announced that his 14th season would be his last. He left holding San Antonio's career records for rebounds, steals and blocks.
Q 07Which Eastern Conference champion did the San Antonio Spurs beat in six games in the 2003 NBA Finals?
New Jersey Nets
The New Jersey Nets arrived on a ten-game playoff winning streak after two straight sweeps. It was the first Finals between two former ABA teams.
Q 08Which singer performed at halftime of the 2003 NBA All-Star Game in a dress styled like a Wizards uniform?
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey sang her ballad Hero over a montage of the retiring star's career, then introduced him to a standing ovation from both teams and the crowd.
Q 09Which player won his first NBA scoring title in 2002–03, averaging 32.1 points for the Orlando Magic?
Tracy McGrady
Tracy McGrady finished a career-best fourth in MVP voting. His eighth-seeded team then led its first-round playoff series three games to one, and lost.
Q 10Which All-Star center missed the first 12 games of the 2002–03 NBA season after surgery on an arthritic toe?
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal's Lakers lost nine of those twelve games and stood 11–19 after thirty, their worst start in nine years. They recovered to win 50.
Q 11Which player was named MVP of the 2003 NBA All-Star Game after scoring 37 points in the West's win?
Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett hit three jumpers in the second overtime to seal a 155–145 win, in the first All-Star Game ever to need two extra periods.
Q 12From which city did the Hornets relocate before starting the 2002–03 NBA season in New Orleans?
Charlotte
Charlotte had been the Hornets' home for fourteen seasons. The city was handed a replacement franchise, the Bobcats, which began play in 2004.
Q 13Which Spurs reserve hit four second-half three-pointers to finish off the 2003 Western Conference finals in Game 6?
Steve Kerr
Q 21Which officiating aid did the NBA introduce in 2002–03 to judge whether last-second shots beat the clock?
Instant replay
Instant replay arrived together with LED light strips on every backboard and scorer's table, which illuminate when time expires so officials can check a buzzer-beater.
Q 22Which network televised the 2003 NBA Finals, its first after NBC's twelve-year run with the league ended?
ABC
ABC returned to the NBA after a 29-year absence, with telecasts produced by sister network ESPN. The series drew what was then the lowest Finals rating on record.
Q 23Which top seed recovered from a 3–1 deficit to beat the Orlando Magic in the 2003 NBA playoffs' first round?
Detroit Pistons
Steve Kerr helped erase a 15-point second-half deficit, then retired after the Finals with a fifth championship ring.
Q 14Which fan-voted starter gave up his place in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game so a retiring legend could start?
Vince Carter
Vince Carter stepped aside at the last minute, after the veteran had already turned down the same offer from two other East starters.
Q 15Which 2002–03 NBA Rookie of the Year was the first winner drafted straight out of high school?
Amar'e Stoudemire
Amar'e Stoudemire went ninth in the draft to Phoenix, yet beat that year's first overall pick to the award.
Q 16Which point guard led the NBA in assists in 2002–03 while taking his team to a second straight Finals?
Jason Kidd
Jason Kidd averaged 8.9 assists and a career-high 18.7 points a game. A free agent that summer, he visited San Antonio before re-signing with his own club.
Q 17Which player led the East with 35 points in a losing cause at the double-overtime 2003 NBA All-Star Game?
Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson was midway through the first full 82-game season of his career for Philadelphia, one in which he averaged 27.6 points and made the All-NBA Second Team.
Q 18Which point guard retired in May 2003 after 19 seasons with one franchise as the NBA's career assists leader?
John Stockton
John Stockton announced it in a written statement instead of the customary news conference. He also left as the league's career leader in steals.
Q 19Which All-Star forward suffered a season-ending knee injury in Game 3 of the 2003 Western Conference finals?
Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki went down as his team lost Game 3, and it won only one of the three games played without him. He had averaged 25.1 points in the regular season.
Q 20Which team opened the 2002–03 NBA season with 14 straight wins, one short of the record at the time?
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks finally lost in Indiana on November 28. They finished 60–22, level with the eventual champions for the league's best record.
The Detroit Pistons were saved by a rule change: the opening round had just been lengthened from best-of-five to best-of-seven. Under the old format Orlando would have gone through.
Q 24Which coach won the 2002–03 NBA Coach of the Year award before guiding his team to the championship?
Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich won it even though his Spurs improved by only two wins on the previous season. It was the first of his three Coach of the Year awards.
Q 25Which undrafted player led the NBA in rebounding in 2002–03 and repeated as Defensive Player of the Year?
Ben Wallace
Ben Wallace grabbed 15.4 rebounds a game and was voted an All-Star starter at his first selection. He also made the All-NBA Second Team.
Q 26Which Phoenix guard beat the top-seeded Spurs with an overtime buzzer-beating three in Game 1 of the 2003 playoffs?
Stephon Marbury
Stephon Marbury's shot gave the eighth seed a 96–95 win in San Antonio. The Spurs recovered to take the series in six games.
Q 27Whose potential game-winning three rattled in and out as the Lakers lost Game 5 to the Spurs in 2003?
Robert Horry
Robert Horry, famed for clutch shots, missed as the Lakers nearly erased a 25-point deficit. They lost Game 6 too, ending their run of three straight titles.
Q 28Which city's team trailed 3–0 in a 2003 NBA first-round series, then forced a Game 7 before losing?
Portland
Portland was only the third NBA team to force a seventh game from 3–0 down. Its Game 4 win had also snapped a ten-game playoff losing streak dating back to 2000.
Q 29Which team's 2003 loss to the Lakers made it seven first-round playoff exits in seven straight seasons?
Minnesota
Minnesota had home-court advantage for the first time in franchise history and lost anyway. The streak ended a year later with a first playoff series win.
Q 30Which second-year guard, a former second-round pick, was voted the NBA's Most Improved Player for 2002–03?
Gilbert Arenas
Gilbert Arenas averaged 18.3 points as Golden State jumped from 21 wins to 38. He said afterwards that all he had needed was more playing time and experience.