2002–03 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 2002–03 Milwaukee Bucks season was the 35th season for the Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association. For the first time since the 1993–94 season, Glenn Robinson was not on the opening day roster. During the off-season, the Bucks acquired Toni Kukoč from the Atlanta Hawks.

With the addition of Kukoč, the Bucks played around .500 in winning percentage with an 8–8 start to the regular season, but then fell below .500 as the team lost seven of their next nine games. The Bucks soon recovered and won 10 of their 14 games in January, and held a 25–23 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, just before the trading deadline, the Bucks traded All-Star guard Ray Allen to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for All-Star guard Gary Payton, and Desmond Mason. With the addition of Payton and Mason, the Bucks won eight of their final nine games of the season, finishing in fourth place in the Central Division with a 42–40 record, and earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

Sam Cassell averaged 19.7 points and 5.8 assists per game, while Payton averaged 19.6 points, 7.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 28 games after the trade, and Michael Redd provided the team with 15.1 points per game, and also led them with 182 three-point field goals. In addition, Desmond Mason contributed 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 28 games, while Tim Thomas provided with 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and Kukoč contributed 11.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Meanwhile, Anthony Mason averaged 7.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, Jason Caffey provided with 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, Dutch rookie center Dan Gadzuric contributed 3.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, Ervin Johnson averaged 2.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and Joel Pryzbilla provided with 1.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, but only played just 32 games due to injury.

Despite a stellar season before the mid-season trade, Allen was not selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, Georgia; Allen averaged 21.3 points per game, and contributed 123 three-point field goals in 47 games with the Bucks. Payton finished in eleventh place in Defensive Player of the Year voting, while Redd finished in second place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, behind Bobby Jackson of the Sacramento Kings, and with Kukoč finishing in tenth place; Redd also finished in twelfth place in Most Improved Player voting.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2003 NBA playoffs, the Bucks faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion New Jersey Nets, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and second-year star Richard Jefferson. The Nets took a 2–1 series lead, but the Bucks managed to win Game 4 at home in overtime, 119–114 at the Bradley Center. However, after losing Game 5 on the road, 89–82 at the Continental Airlines Arena, the Bucks lost Game 6 to the Nets at the Bradley Center, 113–101, thus losing the series in six games. The Nets would advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, but would lose to the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the 2003 NBA Finals.

The Bucks finished 17th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 665,966 at the Bradley Center during the regular season. Following the season, Payton signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Cassell and Johnson were both traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach George Karl was fired, and Caffey and Anthony Mason both retired.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 13 Marcus Haislip PF Tennessee 2 34 Dan Gadzuric C UCLA 2 41 Ronald Murray SG Shaw 2 47 Chris Owens PF Texas

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

|-style="background:#fcc;" | 1 || October 30, 2002 || @ Philadelphia | L 93–95

| First Union Center19,569 | 0–1

|-style="background:#fcc;" | 2 || November 2, 2002 || Orlando | L 90–100 |Michael Redd (17) |Toni Kukoc (12) |Kevin Ollie (5) | Bradley Center16,713 | 0–2 |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 3 || November 4, 2002 || @ New York | W 97–88 | |Dan Gadzuric (10) | | Madison Square Garden18,100 | 1–2 |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 4 || November 6, 2002 || New Jersey | W 99–93

| Bradley Center14,539 | 2–2 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 5 || November 7, 2002 || @ Minnesota | L 110–114

| Target Center14,776 | 2–3 |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 6 || November 9, 2002 || Philadelphia | W 110–105

| Bradley Center16,782 | 3–3 |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 7 || November 13, 2002 || Chicago | W 108–101

| Bradley Center14,036 | 4–3 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 8 || November 15, 2002 || @ Indiana | L 100–103

| Conseco Fieldhouse16,010 | 4–4 |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 9 || November 16, 2002 || Boston | W 104–85

| Bradley Center18,717 | 5–4 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 10 || November 19, 2002 || Miami | L 93–97

| Bradley Center13,632 | 5–5 |-style="background:#ccffcc;" | 11 || November 22, 2002 || @ Golden State | W 95–91

| The Arena in Oakland12,170 | 6–5 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 12 || November 24, 2002 || @ L. A. Lakers | L 99–111

| STAPLES Center18,997 | 6–6 |-style="background:#fcc;" | 13 || November 25, 2002 || @ Phoenix | L 81–86

| America West Arena12,986 | 6–7

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 47 46 35.8 43.7 39.5 91.3 4.6 3.5 1.2 0.2 21.3 Sam Cassell 78 77 34.6 47.0 36.2 86.1 4.4 5.8 1.1 0.2 19.7 Gary Payton 28 28 38.8 46.6 29.4 74.6 3.1 7.4 1.4 0.3 19.6 Michael Redd 82 14 28.2 46.9 43.8 80.5 4.5 1.4 1.2 0.2 15.1 Desmond Mason 28 25 34.0 47.4 29.4 76.5 6.7 2.4 0.7 0.4 14.8 Tim Thomas 80 70 29.5 44.3 36.6 78.0 4.9 1.3 0.9 0.6 13.3 63 0 27.0 43.2 36.1 70.6 4.2 3.7 1.3 0.5 11.6 65 58 32.6 48.6 0.0 71.8 6.4 3.2 0.5 0.2 7.2 Jason Caffey 51 16 17.5 45.6 0.0 65.1 3.5 0.7 0.4 0.3 5.8 Kevin Ollie 53 4 21.3 45.9 20.0 74.7 1.9 3.4 0.7 0.1 5.7 Marcus Haislip 39 8 11.3 43.1 25.0 68.4 1.4 0.2 0.2 0.5 4.1 Dan Gadzuric 49 30 15.5 48.3 0.0 51.8 4.0 0.2 0.4 1.1 3.4 Ervin Johnson 69 17 17.0 45.2 0.0 68.2 4.3 0.3 0.5 0.9 2.2 Ronald Murray 12 0 3.5 34.6 0.0 62.5 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.0 1.9 Joel Przybilla 32 17 17.1 39.1 0.0 50.0 4.5 0.4 0.3 1.4 1.5 Jamal Sampson 5 0 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0

Playoffs Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Gary Payton 6 6 41.8 42.9 6.7 70.0 3.0 8.7 1.3 0.2 18.5 Tim Thomas 6 5 31.8 46.2 57.1 71.9 4.8 1.3 0.5 1.0 17.8 Sam Cassell 6 6 36.2 47.0 52.4 93.3 3.2 2.7 0.5 0.2 17.2 6 0 30.7 49.2 37.9 70.0 4.2 3.7 2.2 0.2 14.8 Desmond Mason 6 6 34.0 50.9 0.0 71.0 7.0 0.8 1.0 0.7 13.0 Michael Redd 6 0 21.3 40.4 25.0 92.9 3.5 1.8 0.3 0.2 9.7 Marcus Haislip 2 1 12.0 66.7 0.0 50.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 0.5 5.0 Anthony Mason 6 0 26.2 41.2 0.0 69.2 3.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 3.8 Ervin Johnson 6 3 12.7 37.5 0.0 0.0 4.0 0.5 0.5 0.8 1.0 Joel Przybilla 4 3 8.3 100.0 0.0 0.0 2.5 0.3 0.0 0.5 0.5

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records George Karl, Coach of the Month in January

Transactions

Overview Players Added Via draft Dan Gadzuric Marcus Haislip Ronald Murray Jamal Sampson Via trade Toni Kukoč Desmond Mason Gary Payton Via free agency Kevin OlliePlayers Lost Via trade Ray Allen Ronald Murray Kevin Ollie Glenn Robinson Via free agency Rafer Alston Greg Anthony Greg Foster Darvin Ham Mark Pope

Trades August 2, 2002 To Milwaukee Bucks---- Toni Kukoč Leon Smith 2003 1st round pick (T. J. Ford) To Atlanta Hawks---- Glenn Robinson February 20, 2003 To Milwaukee Bucks---- Desmond Mason Gary Payton To Seattle SuperSonics---- Ray Allen Ronald Murray Kevin Ollie 2003 1st round pick (Luke Ridnour)

Free agents Player Signed Former teamKevin OllieSeptember 6, 2002Indiana PacersCedric HendersonSeptember 25, 2002Golden State Warriors

Player Transactions Citation:

References

2002–03 Milwaukee Bucks season

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