2003 NBA Champions | San Antonio Spurs | NBA Championship

Описание: 2003 NBA Champions
San Antonio Spurs
NBA Championship


The 2002–03 NBA season was the 36th season of the franchise, 30th in San Antonio, and 27th in the National Basketball Association. This was also the Spurs' first season playing at the SBC Center (now AT&T Center). During the offseason, the team signed free agent Kevin Willis, traded for Speedy Claxton and Steve Kerr, and welcomed Argentinian future star Manu Ginóbili (drafted by the team in 1999) for his first NBA season. The Spurs played strong basketball, posting a nine-game winning streak at midseason, then winning eleven straight games near the end of the season. The Spurs would win 60 games for only the second time in franchise history as they attempted to win a second title in longtime star David Robinson's final season. The season saw Tim Duncan earn his second consecutive NBA MVP Award, and appear in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Second-year guard Tony Parker showed improvement, averaging 15.5 points per game. Rookie Manu Ginóbili was named to the All-Rookie Second Team. This season marked the official beginning of the Big Three era, and the end of the Twin Towers era. The trio of Duncan, Parker, and Ginóbili would lead the Spurs to win 3 more championships (2005, 2007, and 2014).

In the first round of the playoffs, the Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns after losing Game 1 in overtime, then defeated the defending three-time NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals in six games. In the Western Conference Finals, they defeated the Dallas Mavericks to advance to the NBA Finals, where they beat the New Jersey Nets in six games and won their second championship. Following the season, Stephen Jackson signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks, Steve Smith signed with the New Orleans Hornets, and Robinson and Danny Ferry retired. It was also Steve Kerr's last season as an NBA player. A five-time champion, Kerr won four straight titles with the Chicago Bulls and Spurs, and 11 years later, returned to the NBA, as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, and ended their 40-year championship drought and the next season led them to the best-ever regular season record of 73–9, a record previously held by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls, another team he was part of.

For the season, the Spurs changed their logo, which remained in use until 2017.