The2002–03 New Jersey Nets season was the Nets' 36th season in theNational Basketball Association, and 27th season inEast Rutherford, New Jersey.^[1] The Nets entered the season as runners-up in the2002 NBA Finals, where they were swept by the two-time defending NBA championLos Angeles Lakers in four games. During the off-season, the Nets acquired All-Star centerDikembe Mutombo from thePhiladelphia 76ers,^[2][3][4] and signed free agentRodney Rogers.^[5][6][7] However, Mutombo only played just 24 games due to a wrist injury.^[8][9][10] The Nets got off a solid start with a 26–9 record, while posting a ten-game winning streak between December and January, and holding a 34–15 record at the All-Star break.^[11] However, the team played below .500 for the remainder of the season, but finished in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 49–33 record, while posting a successful 33–8 home record.^[12]

Jason Kidd averaged 18.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and was selected for the2003 NBA All-Star Game,^[13] In addition,Kenyon Martin averaged 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while second-year forwardRichard Jefferson showed improvement averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, andKerry Kittles provided with 13.0 points and 1.6 steals per game. Sixth manLucious Harris contributed 10.3 points per game, while Rogers provided with 7.0 points per game off the bench, and Mutombo averaged 5.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.^[14] Kidd also finished in ninth place inMost Valuable Player voting.^[15]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of theplayoffs, the Nets defeated theMilwaukee Bucks in six games,^[16][17][18] then swept the 6th-seededBoston Celtics in four straight games in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals,^[19][20][21] and then defeated the top-seededDetroit Pistons in another four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference finals.^[22][23][24] For the second consecutive year, they made it to theNBA Finals. However, they lost to theSan Antonio Spurs in a six-game series.^[25][26][27] Following the season, Mutombo was released to free agency, and signed as a free agent with theNew York Knicks.^[28][29][30]

On August 1, the Nets re-signedChris Childs as a free agent; Childs previously played for the Nets from 1994 to 1996. Five days later, the organization tradedTodd MacCulloch andKeith Van Horn to the Philadelphia 76ers forDikembe Mutombo. On August 14, the Nets signedRodney Rogers as a free agent. On October 25, they signedAnthony Johnson as a free agent. Their final offseason transaction would come three days later, when they waivedDonny Marshall.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Nenad Krstić	C	Serbia and Montenegro
2	54	Tamar Slay	SG	United States	Marshall

2002–03 New Jersey Nets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 1 Brandon Armstrong 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1980-06-16 Pepperdine C 35 Jason Collins 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1978-12-02 Stanford G 12 Lucious Harris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970-12-18 Long Beach State F 24 Richard Jefferson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1980-06-21 Arizona G 2 Anthony Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1974-10-02 College of Charleston G 5 Jason Kidd 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1973-03-23 California G 30 Kerry Kittles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1974-06-12 Villanova F 13 Donny Marshall  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1972-07-17 Connecticut F 6 Kenyon Martin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1977-12-30 Cincinnati C 55 Dikembe Mutombo 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1966-06-25 Georgetown F 54 Rodney Rogers 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1971-06-20 Wake Forest F 21 Brian Scalabrine 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 241 lb (109 kg) 1978-03-18 USC G 8 Tamar Slay 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1980-04-02 Marshall F/C 34 Aaron Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1971-10-02 Xavier

Head coach Byron Scott Assistant(s) Lawrence Frank Eddie Jordan Mike O'Koren Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Player Statistics Citation:^[14]

• Jason Kidd,All-NBA Second Team
• Jason Kidd,NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Jason Kidd,NBA All-Star

Player Transactions Citation:^[31]

• New Jersey Nets on Database Basketball
• New Jersey Nets on Basketball Reference

• 2002–03 NBA season by team
• New Jersey Nets seasons
• 2002 in sports in New Jersey
• 2003 in sports in New Jersey
• 21st century in East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Eastern Conference (NBA) championship seasons
• Meadowlands Sports Complex

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023