The2002–03 Memphis Grizzlies season was the eighth season for theMemphis Grizzlies in theNational Basketball Association, and their second season inMemphis, Tennessee.^[1] The Grizzlies received the fourth overall pick in the2002 NBA draft, and selected power forwardDrew Gooden from theUniversity of Kansas.^[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired rookie small forwardGordan Giriček from theSan Antonio Spurs, acquiredWesley Person from theCleveland Cavaliers, and signed free agentsEarl Watson, and undrafted rookie power forwardMike Batiste.^[5]

In their second season in Memphis, the Grizzlies continued to struggle losing their first eight games of the regular season, as head coachSidney Lowe resigned and was replaced with 69-year oldHubie Brown, who last coached theNew York Knicks midway through the1986–87 season. Under Brown, the Grizzlies lost their next five games, which led to a 13-game losing streak, before defeating theWashington Wizards at home, 85–74 at thePyramid Arena on November 23, 2002. After a dreadful 2–18 start to the season, the Grizzlies won 9 of their next 13 games, but later on posted a 7-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 13–35 record at the All-Star break.^[6]

At mid-season, the team traded both Gooden, and Giriček to theOrlando Magic in exchange forMike Miller, and rookie power forwardRyan Humphrey.^[7][8] After the All-Star break, the Grizzlies won 11 of their next 17 games, which included a six-game winning streak in March, but soon posted another 7-game losing streak between March and April, while losing 13 of their final 17 games of the season. The Grizzlies finished in sixth place in theMidwest Division with a 28–54 record, which was a five-game improvement over the previous season; however, for the eighth consecutive year, the franchise failed to reach 30 wins, or qualify for theNBA playoffs.^[9]

Second-year starPau Gasol averaged 19.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while Miller averaged 12.8 points per game in 16 games after the trade, andJason Williams provided the team with 12.1 points and 8.3 assists per game, and also led them with 143 three-point field goals. In addition,Lorenzen Wright provided with 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Person contributed 11.0 points per game and 100 three-point field goals, and second-year forwardShane Battier averaged 9.7 points and 1.3 steals per game. Meanwhile,Stromile Swift averaged 9.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, Batiste provided with 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, Watson contributed 5.5 points and 2.8 assists per game, andBrevin Knight contributed 3.9 points, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game.^[10]

During theNBA All-Star weekend at thePhilips Arena inAtlanta, Georgia, and before the mid-season trade, Gasol, Gooden and Giriček were all selected for theNBA Rookie Challenge Game, as Gasol was a member of the Sophomores team, while Gooden and Giriček were both members of the Rookies team.^[11][12] Meanwhile, Person participated in theNBA Three-Point Shootout.^[11][13] Williams finished in seventh place inMost Improved Player voting, while Swift finished tied in 26th place,^[14] and Brown finished in seventh place inCoach of the Year voting.^[14]

The Grizzlies finished 24th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 611,322 at the Pyramid Arena during the regular season.^[10][15] Following the season, Knight was traded to thePhoenix Suns, andMichael Dickerson retired after only five seasons in the NBA due to continuing injuries.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	4	Drew Gooden	PF/C	United States	Kansas
2	31	Robert Archibald	PF/C	United Kingdom	Illinois
2	45	Matt Barnes	SF	United States	UCLA

2002–03 Memphis Grizzlies roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 21 Robert Archibald 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1980–03–29 Illinois F 24 Mike Batiste 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1977–11–21 Arizona State G/F 31 Shane Battier 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1978–09–09 Duke G 8 Michael Dickerson  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1975–06–25 Arizona F/C 16 Pau Gasol 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1980–07–06 Spain PF 40 Ryan Humphrey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1979–07–24 Notre Dame G 22 Brevin Knight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1975–11–08 Stanford G/F 33 Mike Miller  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1980–02–19 Florida F 20 Chris Owens 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1979–03–01 Texas G 1 Wesley Person 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1971–03–28 Auburn F 4 Stromile Swift 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1979–11–21 LSU C 15 Cezary Trybański 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1979–09–22 Poland PG 25 Earl Watson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1979–06–12 UCLA PG 2 Jason Williams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1975–11–18 Florida C 42 Lorenzen Wright  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1975–11–04 Memphis

Head coach Hubie Brown Assistant(s) Mitchell Anderson Tony Barone Brendan Brown Lionel Hollins Scott Roth Hal Wissel Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

• Gordan Giricek,NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

• 2002-03 NBA season

• Memphis Grizzlies seasons
• 2002–03 NBA season by team
• 2002 in sports in Tennessee
• 2003 in sports in Tennessee
• 2000s in Memphis, Tennessee

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