2002–03 Phoenix Suns season

2002–03 Phoenix Suns season
2002–03 Phoenix Suns season
Head coach	Frank Johnson
General manager	Bryan Colangelo
Owner(s)	Jerry Colangelo
Arena	America West Arena
Results
Record	44–38 (.537)
Place	Division: 4th (Pacific); Conference: 8th (Western)
Playoff finish	First Round; (Lost to Spurs 2–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KUTP; Fox Sports Net Arizona; Cox 9;
Radio	KTAR
< 2001–02	2003–04 >

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 35th season for the Phoenix Suns in the National Basketball Association.^[1] Frank Johnson returned as head coach, posting eight additional wins from the previous season to finish at 44–38.^[2] The Suns returned to the playoffs after snapping a streak of 13 seasons in a row the year before, a franchise record, and were supplanted by the play of rookie high school draft pick Amar'e Stoudemire.^[3] America West Arena hosted Suns home games.

Point guard Stephon Marbury and forward Shawn Marion provided a pair of 20–20 scorers, with Marbury leading the team at 22.3 points per game. The versatile Marion finished the season third in the league in minutes played, behind Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant, and third in steals per game while Marbury finished fourth in the NBA in assists per game. The 20-year-old Stoudemire was drafted to balance out a team that had been deep at the guard position in years past, averaging 13.5 points as a power forward per game and grabbing nearly nine rebounds per game (although Marion again was tops with 9.5).^[4] Marbury and Marion were both selected for the All-Star Game,^[5] while Marbury ended the season as a member of the All-NBA Third Team.

The Suns earned the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot, and were matched against the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference First Round. The Suns won Game 1 on the road, 96–95, but lost the series to the eventual league champions, four games to two.^[6]

In Stoudemire, who earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honors and became the first high school draft pick to become NBA Rookie of the Year, the Suns had drafted an athletic big man to join the equally athletic Marion for the coming seasons.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Club Team
1	9	Amar'e Stoudemire	Forward	United States
1	22	Casey Jacobsen	Guard	United States	Stanford

Roster

2002–03 Phoenix Suns roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
PG	0	Brown, Randy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1968-05-22	New Mexico State
PF	4	Ford, Alton	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	1981-05-29	Houston
PF	24	Gugliotta, Tom	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1969-12-19	NC State
SG	1	Hardaway, Anfernee	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1971-07-18	Memphis
SF	23	Jacobsen, Casey	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1981-03-19	Stanford
SG	2	Johnson, Joe	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1981-06-29	Arkansas
SF	14	Langhi, Dan	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1977-11-28	Vanderbilt
PG	3	Marbury, Stephon (C)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1977-02-20	Georgia Tech
SF	31	Marion, Shawn (C)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1978-05-07	UNLV
C	45	Outlaw, Bo	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1971-04-13	Houston
PF	32	Stoudemire, Amar'e (C)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1982-11-16	Cypress Creek HS (FL)
C	25	Tsakalidis, Jake	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	1979-06-10	Georgia (country)
C	43	Voskuhl, Jake	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1977-11-01	Connecticut
C	47	Williams, Scott	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1968-03-21	North Carolina

Head coach

Frank Johnson

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: October 23, 2002

Regular season

Standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Sacramento Kings	59	23	.720	–	35–6	24–17	17–7
x-Los Angeles Lakers	50	32	.610	9	31–10	19–22	15–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers	50	32	.610	9	27–14	23–18	15–9
x-Phoenix Suns	44	38	.537	15	30–11	14–27	12–12
Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	19	25–16	15–26	11–13
Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	21	24–17	14–27	8–16
Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	32	16–25	11–30	6–18

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-San Antonio Spurs	60	22	.732	–
2	y-Sacramento Kings	59	23	.720	1
3	x-Dallas Mavericks	60	22	.732	–
4	x-Minnesota Timberwolves	51	31	.622	9
5	x-Los Angeles Lakers	50	32	.610	10
6	x-Portland Trail Blazers	50	32	.610	10
7	x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	13
8	x-Phoenix Suns	44	38	.537	16

9	Houston Rockets	43	39	.524	17
10	Seattle SuperSonics	40	42	.488	20
11	Golden State Warriors	38	44	.463	22
12	Memphis Grizzlies	28	54	.341	32
13	Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	33
14	Denver Nuggets	17	65	.207	43

Record vs. opponents

2002-03 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MEM	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NOH	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–3	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–0	—	2–2	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–2	2–0	1–3	3–1	4–0	3–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	1–3
Chicago	2–2	2–2	—	3–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3
Cleveland	0–4	0–4	1–3	—	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–2	0–4	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–4
Dallas	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	—	4–0	2–0	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Denver	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	—	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–4	1–1
Detroit	3–1	2–2	4–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–2	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1
Golden State	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	4–0	1–1	—	1–3	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	2–0
Houston	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–4	4–0	0–2	3–1	—	1–1	2–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	1–3	1–1
Indiana	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	0–2	1–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–2	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	—	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	—	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–1
Memphis	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	—	2–0	2–0	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Miami	3–1	2–2	2–1	2–1	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	1–3	1–1	0–4	0–4	2–2	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–2	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	2–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	—	0–2	2–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	2–1
Minnesota	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–0
New Jersey	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	—	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	3–1
New Orleans	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	—	3–1	1–3	2–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	2–0	2–1
New York	3–1	0–4	1–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–2
Orlando	1–2	2–3	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	—	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–2
Philadelphia	1–3	2–2	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–2	2–2	2–2	—	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–0	1–1	4–0
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	—	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–1
Portland	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–3	—	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	—	1–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–0
San Antonio	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	2–0	4–0	1–1
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–3	1–3	—	2–0	2–2	1–1
Toronto	3–1	2–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	1–1	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	0–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	0–2	3–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	0–2	2–2	3–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–0	—	1–1
Washington	2–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–2	0–2	1–3	1–2	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	—

Playoffs

Game log

2003 playoff game log

First Round: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 19	@ San Antonio	W 96–95 (OT)	Stephon Marbury (26)	Shawn Marion (12)	Stephon Marbury (6)	SBC Center 19,217	1–0
2	April 21	@ San Antonio	L 76–84	Stephon Marbury (32)	Shawn Marion (12)	Stephon Marbury (5)	SBC Center 19,217	1–1
3	April 25	San Antonio	L 86–99	Stephon Marbury (25)	Joe Johnson (9)	Stephon Marbury (7)	America West Arena 19,023	1–2
4	April 27	San Antonio	W 86–84	Stephon Marbury (18)	Shawn Marion (14)	Hardaway, Marbury (7)	America West Arena 18,756	2–2
5	April 29	@ San Antonio	L 82–94	Shawn Marion (22)	Amar'e Stoudemire (14)	Stephon Marbury (7)	SBC Center 19,217	2–3
6	May 1	San Antonio	L 85–87	Shawn Marion (24)	Shawn Marion (15)	Penny Hardaway (5)	America West Arena 18,913	2–4

2003 playoff schedule

Awards and honors

Week/Month

Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January.
Amar'e Stoudemire was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for April.
Frank Johnson was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for December.
Stephon Marbury was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played November 24 through November 30.
Stephon Marbury was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played January 5 through January 11.
Shawn Marion was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played April 7 through April 13.

All-Star

Shawn Marion was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his first All-Star selection.
Stephon Marbury was selected as a reserve for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. It was his second All-Star selection.
Amar'e Stoudemire was selected to play for the Rookie team in the Rookie Challenge.
Stephon Marbury was selected to compete in the Skills Challenge. Marbury lost the competition to the player he was traded to Phoenix for, Jason Kidd.
Amar'e Stoudemire was selected to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest. Stoudemire finished third, behind Desmond Mason and champion Jason Richardson.

Season

Amar'e Stoudemire received the Rookie of the Year Award.
Stephon Marbury was named to the All-NBA Third Team.
Amar'e Stoudemire was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Shawn Marion finished 13th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Joe Johnson finished 11th in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Stephon Marbury finished 14th in Most Improved Player voting.
Penny Hardaway finished 26th in Most Improved Player voting.

Player statistics

Legend
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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Randy Brown	32	0	8.2	.372	.	.750	0.8	1.1	.5	.1	1.3
Alton Ford	11	0	2.8	.333	.	.333	0.5	0.1	.0	.0	0.6
Tom Gugliotta	27	11	16.6	.455	.000	1.000^	3.7	1.1	.5	.2	4.8
Penny Hardaway	58	51	30.6	.447	.356	.794	4.4	4.1	1.1	.4	10.6
Casey Jacobsen	72	0	15.9	.373	.315	.686	1.2	1.0	.5	.1	5.1
Joe Johnson	82	34	27.5	.397	.366	.774	3.2	2.6	.8	.2	9.8
Dan Langhi	60	0	9.0	.401	.290	.600	1.5	0.4	.3	.1	3.1
Stephon Marbury	81	81	40.0	.439	.301	.803	3.2	8.1	1.3	.2	22.3
Shawn Marion	81	81	41.6	.452	.387	.851^	9.5	2.4	2.3	1.2	21.2
Bo Outlaw	80	20	22.5	.550†	.000	.621	4.6	1.4	.6	.9	4.7
Amar'e Stoudemire	82	71	31.3	.472†	.200	.661	8.8	1.0	.8	1.1	13.5
Jake Tsakalidis	33	27	16.5	.452	.	.672	3.7	0.4	.2	.5	4.9
Jake Voskuhl	65	1	14.6	.564†	.	.667	3.5	0.6	.3	.4	3.8
Scott Williams	69	33	12.6	.411	.000	.786	2.8	0.3	.4	.3	4.0

† – Minimum 300 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 125 free throws made.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Tom Gugliotta	2	0	5.0	.500	.	.500	1.0	0.0	.0	.0	2.5
Penny Hardaway	6	6	40.7	.386	.360^	.722	6.0	4.3	2.2	.8	12.7
Casey Jacobsen	6	0	6.5	.200	.400^	.000	0.5	0.3	.5	.0	1.0
Joe Johnson	6	0	27.3	.275	.154	.400	4.3	1.3	.7	.3	5.3
Stephon Marbury	6	6	45.2	.375	.227	.758	4.0	5.7	1.2	.0	22.0
Shawn Marion	6	6	47.2	.374	.321	.846	11.7	2.0	1.8	1.8	18.5
Bo Outlaw	6	0	11.7	.100	.	.500	2.2	0.8	.2	.2	0.7
Amar'e Stoudemire	6	6	33.8	.523†	1.000^	.571	7.8	1.2	1.7	1.5	14.2
Jake Voskuhl	6	0	16.3	.706†	.	.923#	3.7	0.3	.7	.7	6.0
Scott Williams	6	6	13.8	.344	.	1.000#	2.5	0.2	.7	.5	4.0

† – Minimum 20 field goals made.
^ – Minimum 5 three-pointers made.
# – Minimum 10 free throws made.

References

^ "2002-03 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats".
^ "2002–03 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^ "Rockets make Yao Ming first overall pick". ESPN. June 26, 2003. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
^ "2002–03 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^ "2003 NBA All-Star Game: West 155, East 145 (2OT)". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^ "PRO BASKETBALL; Spurs Finish Suns' Season". New York Times. May 2, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

External links

Standings on Basketball Reference

[1] "2002-03 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats".

[results-2] "2002–03 Phoenix Suns Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

[3] "Rockets make Yao Ming first overall pick". ESPN. June 26, 2003. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

[roster-4] "2002–03 Phoenix Suns Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

[5] "2003 NBA All-Star Game: West 155, East 145 (2OT)". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

[6] "PRO BASKETBALL; Spurs Finish Suns' Season". New York Times. May 2, 2003. Retrieved January 13, 2022.

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