2003–04 New York Knicks season
Season of National Basketball Association team the New York Knicks
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The 2003–04 New York Knicks season was the 58th season for the Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] During the offseason, the Knicks signed All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo in free agency.[2] The Knicks started the season by losing seven of their first nine games as fans at the Garden chanted "Fire Layden", in reference to general manager Scott Layden.[3][4] Knicks fans would get their wish as Layden was fired and replaced by former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas.[4][5]
- Don Chaney (fired)
- Herb Williams (interim)
- Lenny Wilkens
| 2003–04 New York Knicks season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |
|
| General manager | |
| Owners | Cablevision |
| Arena | Madison Square Garden |
| Results | |
| Record | 39–43 (.476) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Atlantic) Conference: 7th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | First round (lost to Nets 0–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | MSG Network |
| Radio | WFAN |
In January, the Knicks traded Antonio McDyess and Charlie Ward to the Phoenix Suns for All-Star guard Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway.[6] Ward was released by the Suns, and later signed as a free agent with the San Antonio Spurs.[7] At midseason, Thomas made more moves, trading Keith Van Horn to the Milwaukee Bucks for Tim Thomas.[8] After a 15–24 start, the Knicks fired head coach Don Chaney, and played one game under assistant Herb Williams before signing Lenny Wilkens as their new coach.[9] With a 39–43 record, which placed them third in the Atlantic Division, the Knicks qualified for the NBA playoffs as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.[10] Allan Houston averaged 18.5 points per game, but played just 50 games due to injury.[11][12]
In the first round of the playoffs, the Knicks were swept in four games by the New Jersey Nets.[11] New York did not return to the playoffs until the 2010–11 season.[13] Following the season, Mutombo was traded to the Chicago Bulls, who then dealt him to the Houston Rockets.[14] Longtime Knicks play-by-play announcer Marv Albert was not retained by the MSG Network, having criticized poor play by the team on-air. He remained an NBA on TNT broadcaster until he retired from NBA broadcasting following the 2020–21 season.[15][16]
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Michael Sweetney | F |  United States |
Georgetown |
| 2 | 30 | Maciej Lampe | F |  Poland |
Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-New Jersey Nets | 47 | 35 | .573 | – | 28–13 | 19–22 | 18–7 |
| x-Miami Heat | 42 | 40 | .512 | 5 | 29–12 | 13–28 | 15–10 |
| x-New York Knicks | 39 | 43 | .476 | 8 | 23–18 | 16–25 | 15–7 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 11 | 19–22 | 17–24 | 14–10 |
| e-Philadelphia 76ers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 14 | 21–20 | 12–29 | 10–14 |
| e-Washington Wizards | 25 | 57 | .305 | 22 | 17–24 | 8–33 | 3–21 |
| e-Orlando Magic | 21 | 61 | .256 | 26 | 11–30 | 10–31 | 8–16 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Indiana Pacers | 61 | 21 | .744 | – |
| 2 | y-New Jersey Nets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 14 |
| 3 | x-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | 7 |
| 4 | x-Miami Heat | 42 | 40 | .512 | 19 |
| 5 | x-New Orleans Hornets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 20 |
| 6 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 41 | 41 | .500 | 20 |
| 7 | x-New York Knicks | 39 | 43 | .476 | 22 |
| 8 | x-Boston Celtics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 25 |
| 9 | e-Cleveland Cavaliers | 35 | 47 | .427 | 26 |
| 10 | e-Toronto Raptors | 33 | 49 | .402 | 28 |
| 11 | e-Philadelphia 76ers | 33 | 49 | .402 | 28 |
| 12 | e-Atlanta Hawks | 28 | 54 | .341 | 33 |
| 13 | e-Washington Wizards | 25 | 57 | .305 | 36 |
| 14 | e-Chicago Bulls | 23 | 59 | .280 | 38 |
| 15 | e-Orlando Magic | 21 | 61 | .256 | 40 |
Playoffs
| 2004 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Round: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| 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 |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shandon Anderson | 80 | 37 | 24.7 | .422 | .281 | .764 | 2.8 | 1.5 | .9 | .2 | 7.9 |
| Vin Baker† | 17 | 0 | 18.4 | .404 | .500 | .711 | 4.1 | .7 | .4 | .5 | 6.6 |
| Michael Doleac† | 46 | 0 | 14.9 | .444 | .861 | 4.1 | .7 | .4 | .7 | 5.0 | |
| Howard Eisley† | 33 | 23 | 22.1 | .396 | .329 | .889 | 2.0 | 4.7 | .9 | .1 | 6.7 |
| Penny Hardaway† | 42 | 4 | 29.0 | .390 | .364 | .775 | 4.5 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .3 | 9.6 |
| Othella Harrington | 56 | 3 | 15.6 | .495 | .744 | 3.2 | .5 | .2 | .3 | 4.6 | |
| Allan Houston | 50 | 50 | 36.0 | .435 | .431 | .913 | 2.4 | 2.0 | .8 | .0 | 18.5 |
| DerMarr Johnson | 21 | 1 | 13.7 | .371 | .361 | .903 | 1.9 | .5 | .4 | .3 | 5.4 |
| Stephon Marbury† | 47 | 47 | 39.1 | .431 | .321 | .833 | 3.1 | 9.3 | 1.4 | .1 | 19.8 |
| Antonio McDyess† | 18 | 6 | 23.4 | .458 | .579 | 6.6 | 1.1 | .7 | .6 | 8.4 | |
| Nazr Mohammed† | 27 | 23 | 24.9 | .563 | .525 | 7.7 | .6 | 1.2 | .9 | 9.1 | |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 65 | 56 | 23.0 | .478 | .681 | 6.7 | .4 | .3 | 1.9 | 5.6 | |
| Moochie Norris† | 36 | 0 | 12.4 | .408 | .343 | .766 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .8 | .1 | 4.3 |
| Bruno Šundov† | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | 1.000 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 | ||
| Michael Sweetney | 42 | 1 | 11.8 | .493 | .000 | .724 | 3.7 | .3 | .4 | .3 | 4.3 |
| Kurt Thomas | 80 | 75 | 31.9 | .473 | .000 | .835 | 8.3 | 1.9 | .7 | 1.0 | 11.1 |
| Tim Thomas† | 24 | 23 | 31.1 | .452 | .406 | .813 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.0 | .2 | 15.8 |
| Cezary Trybański† | 3 | 0 | 1.7 | .000 | .500 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .0 | .3 | |
| Keith Van Horn† | 47 | 47 | 33.5 | .445 | .373 | .819 | 7.3 | 1.8 | 1.1 | .4 | 16.4 |
| Charlie Ward† | 35 | 10 | 23.6 | .442 | .428 | .762 | 2.7 | 4.9 | 1.3 | .2 | 8.7 |
| Clarence Weatherspoon† | 15 | 1 | 14.4 | .450 | .947 | 3.3 | .9 | .5 | .1 | 3.6 | |
| Frank Williams | 56 | 3 | 12.8 | .385 | .300 | .854 | .9 | 2.2 | .4 | .1 | 3.9 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shandon Anderson | 4 | 4 | 29.3 | .259 | .286 | .500 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .3 | 4.3 |
| Vin Baker | 4 | 0 | 14.3 | .571 | .667 | 3.0 | .3 | .8 | .5 | 5.5 | |
| Penny Hardaway | 4 | 3 | 42.0 | .365 | .357 | .833 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 1.5 | .3 | 16.5 |
| DerMarr Johnson | 3 | 0 | 5.7 | .000 | .000 | .7 | .7 | .0 | .3 | .0 | |
| Stephon Marbury | 4 | 4 | 43.5 | .373 | .300 | .680 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 1.8 | .0 | 21.3 |
| Nazr Mohammed | 4 | 4 | 24.3 | .500 | .688 | 5.8 | .3 | 1.5 | .8 | 10.3 | |
| Dikembe Mutombo | 3 | 0 | 12.7 | .333 | 1.000 | 3.3 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 | 2.3 | |
| Michael Sweetney | 4 | 0 | 14.3 | .545 | .667 | 2.5 | .0 | .0 | .3 | 4.0 | |
| Kurt Thomas | 4 | 4 | 34.8 | .429 | .750 | 11.5 | 1.5 | 1.8 | .8 | 12.8 | |
| Tim Thomas | 1 | 1 | 22.0 | .400 | .000 | .800 | 5.0 | 3.0 | .0 | .0 | 12.0 |
| Frank Williams | 4 | 0 | 18.5 | .273 | .308 | .600 | .5 | 1.3 | .8 | .0 | 4.8 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Knicks only.