Notable occurrences

• The Hornets relocate from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans, Louisiana, leaving Charlotte without an NBA team until the Charlotte Bobcats (who would rename themselves the Hornets in 2014 following the New Orleans franchise's rebrand as the Pelicans the year before) were formed in 2004. They also play their first game at New Orleans Arena. As a result, the NBA prohibits NBA games (except national games) from being broadcast in the Carolinas for two seasons. Twelve years later, revised records between the two teams suggest that the Charlotte NBA franchise suspended operations following the original team's relocation to New Orleans, thereby treating the 2002–03 season as an establishing year for the New Orleans franchise.

• In their New Orleans debut (Oct. 30, 2002) against the city's former occupants, the Utah Jazz, the Hornets posthumously retired Pete Maravich's No. 7, even though he never played for the team, but was honored for his basketball contributions to the city.

• The San Antonio Spurs played their first game at the SBC Center (now the AT&T Center).

• The Houston Rockets played their final game at the Compaq Center (formerly The Summit).

• The 2003 NBA All-Star Game was held at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. The West won 155–145 in double-overtime, the longest All-Star game in NBA history. Minnesota's Kevin Garnett took the game's MVP honors. It was also the last time an Eastern Conference city hosted an All-Star Game (until 2012), and the last time a rookie played (until 2011) and started an All-Star game, with Yao Ming making his All-Star debut.

• Michael Jordan announces his third and final retirement. He plays his last game on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia.

• The NBA on ABC begins (replacing NBA on NBC) again after a 29-year hiatus when the NBA signs new television deals with TNT and the consortium of ABC and ESPN. This agreement significantly decreased the number of games on network television, including the playoffs, in which very few games are shown on ABC, with the exception of the NBA Finals, which are shown entirely on ABC. Also, both conference finals are shown live on cable for the first time.

• For the first time in NBA history, two former ABA teams contest each other in the NBA Finals, the New Jersey Nets versus the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets became the only team in NBA Finals history to wear a throwback uniform in a Finals game, wearing their 1976 home uniforms in Game 5.

• A new instant replay rule is in effect to help officials in determining close calls. Bright red lights are installed on the backboards and scoring tables to make the shot easier to figure out.

• The NBA changes the first-round format from a best-of-five-game series to a best-of-seven-game series for the 2003 NBA playoffs.

• A new low in television ratings for the NBA Finals is reached, replacing the 1981 series as the least watched Finals (later surpassed by the 2007 Finals).

• On January 7, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scored 45 points against the Seattle SuperSonics. Kobe made nine consecutive three-pointers and finished with 12 overall, a new NBA record for most threes in a game, later tied by Donyell Marshall and broken by Stephen Curry (with 13 threes) and later fellow Splash Brother, Klay Thompson (with 14 threes).

• Eight NBA teams (the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, and Washington Wizards) wore throwback uniforms to celebrate the first-ever NBA Hardwood Classics Nights, commemorating either a player milestone, team anniversary or championship anniversary. The NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta featured NBA players wearing the 1987 All-Star uniforms as an extension.

• The Los Angeles Lakers debuted their white and gold alternate jerseys in a loss against the Sacramento Kings on December 25, 2002, at Staples Center. The jerseys were designed as a tribute to long-time announcer Chick Hearn, who died on August 5 from a head injury caused by a fall. The Lakers also sport a black patch in his honor.

• Lenny Wilkens becomes the all-time leader in losses, surpassing Bill Fitch.

• Reebok became the official outfitter for NBA teams, except those still under contract with Nike. Reebok would later become the endorser for all NBA teams in 2004 until its merger and subsequent transfer to Adidas in 2006.

• David Robinson announced his retirement. He would eventually go on to win the championship with the Spurs.

• The elimination of Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs marks the end of the 18-year Karl Malone–John Stockton tandem. Stockton would go on to retire, while Malone would play with the Lakers next season before retiring in 2004.

Standings

By division

By conference

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs

• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs

• y – Clinched division title

• x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Statistics leaders

Awards

Yearly awards

• Most Valuable Player: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

• Rookie of the Year: Amar'e Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns

• Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons

• Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Jackson, Sacramento Kings

• Most Improved Player: Gilbert Arenas, Golden State Warriors

• Coach of the Year: Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs

• Executive of the Year: Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons

• Sportsmanship Award: Ray Allen, Seattle SuperSonics

Players of the month

Rookies of the month

Coaches of the month