2002–03 Memphis Grizzlies season

The 2002–03 Memphis Grizzlies season was the eighth season for the Memphis Grizzlies in the National Basketball Association, and their second season in Memphis, Tennessee.^[1] The Grizzlies received the fourth overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, and selected power forward Drew Gooden from the University of Kansas.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired rookie small forward Gordan Giriček from the San Antonio Spurs, acquired Wesley Person from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and signed free agents Earl Watson, and undrafted rookie power forward Mike Batiste.^[5]

In their second season in Memphis, and with the addition of Gooden, Giriček and Person, the Grizzlies continued to struggle losing their first eight games of the regular season, as head coach Sidney Lowe resigned and was replaced with 69-year old Hubie Brown, who last coached the New York Knicks midway through the 1986–87 season. Under Brown, the Grizzlies lost their next five games, which led to a 13-game losing streak, before defeating the Washington Wizards at home, 85–74 at the Pyramid Arena on November 23, 2002. After a dreadful 2–18 start to the season, the Grizzlies won 9 of their next 13 games, but later on posted a seven-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 13–35 record at the All-Star break.^[6]

At mid-season, the team traded both Gooden, and Giriček to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Mike Miller, and rookie power forward Ryan Humphrey.^[7][8] After the All-Star break, the Grizzlies won 11 of their next 17 games, which included a six-game winning streak in March, but soon posted another seven-game losing streak between March and April, while losing 13 of their final 17 games of the season. The Grizzlies finished in sixth place in the Midwest Division with a 28–54 record, which was a five-game improvement over the previous season;^[9] however, for the eighth consecutive year, the franchise failed to reach 30 wins, or qualify for the NBA playoffs.^[1]

Second-year star Pau Gasol averaged 19.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while Miller averaged 12.8 points per game in 16 games after the trade, and Jason Williams provided the team with 12.1 points and 8.3 assists per game, and also led them with 143 three-point field goals. In addition, Lorenzen Wright provided with 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Person contributed 11.0 points per game and 100 three-point field goals, and second-year forward Shane Battier averaged 9.7 points and 1.3 steals per game. Meanwhile, Stromile Swift averaged 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, Batiste provided with 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, Watson contributed 5.5 points and 2.8 assists per game, and Brevin Knight contributed 3.9 points, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game.^[10]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, and before the mid-season trade, Gasol, Gooden and Giriček were all selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as Gasol was a member of the Sophomores team, while Gooden and Giriček were both members of the Rookies team.^[11][12] Meanwhile, Person participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[11][13] Williams finished in seventh place in Most Improved Player voting, while Swift finished tied in 26th place,^[14] and Brown finished in seventh place in Coach of the Year voting.^[14]

The Grizzlies finished 24th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 611,322 at the Pyramid Arena during the regular season.^[10][15] Following the season, Knight was traded to the Phoenix Suns, and Michael Dickerson retired after only five seasons in the NBA due to continuing injuries.