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| Date | February 9, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Arena | Philips Arena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Atlanta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Kevin Garnett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Gloria Reuben (CAN) Martina McBride (USA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Mariah Carey (celebrating the career of Michael Jordan) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 20,325 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | TNT ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Marv Albert,Mike Fratello, andJeff Van Gundy Kevin Harlan,Danny Ainge,Charles Barkley,Kenny Smith andMagic Johnson (All-Star Saturday Night) Jim Durham andJack Ramsay | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NBA All-Star Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2003 NBA All-Star Game was anexhibition basketball game which was played on February 9, 2003, at thePhilips Arena inAtlanta, home of theAtlanta Hawks. This game was the 52nd edition of the North AmericanNational Basketball Association (NBA)All-Star Game and was played during the2002–03 NBA season.
The West defeated the East 155–145 indouble overtime, withKevin Garnett of theMinnesota Timberwolves winning theMost Valuable Player. Garnett scored 37 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and had 5 steals.Allen Iverson led the East with 35 points.
This was the first All-Star Game to be transmitted on cable television, throughTNT. This was also the 14th and final All-Star Game thatMichael Jordan participated in, as a result of his final retirement after the 2002–03 season. It was the most recent NBA All-Star Game to be decided in overtime, as well as the first (and so far, only) to be decided in double-overtime.
The coach for theWestern Conference team wasSacramento Kings head coachRick Adelman. The coach for theEastern Conference team wasIndiana Pacers head coachIsiah Thomas. The Pacers had a 34–15 record on February 9.
The rosters for the All-Star Game were chosen in two ways. The starters were chosen via a fan ballot. Two guards, two forwards and one center who received the highest vote were named the All-Star starters. This was also the first time that the league offered All-Star ballots in three languages — English, Spanish and Chinese — for fan voting of the starters.[1] The reserves were chosen by votes among the NBA head coaches in their respective conferences. The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players. The reserves consist of two guards, two forwards, one center and two players regardless of position. If a player is unable to participate due to injury, the commissioner will select a replacement.
Kobe Bryant of theLos Angeles Lakers led the ballots with 1,474,386 votes, which earned him a starting position as a guard in theWestern Conference team for the fifth year in a row.Yao Ming, of theHouston Rockets, was the second player with the most votes for the West, becoming the first rookie starter in the All-Star Game sinceGrant Hill in1995.[2] Yao was voted to start overShaquille O'Neal, who was coming off three consecutiveNBA Finals MVP Awards, receiving nearly a quarter million more votes than the Lakers center.[3]Steve Francis,Kevin Garnett, andTim Duncan completed the Western Conference starting positions. Bryant, Garnett, Francis, and Duncan were all starters for the previous year's Western Conference team. TheWestern Conference reserves included one first-time selection,Shawn Marion, of thePhoenix Suns. The squad was rounded out byGary Payton,Steve Nash,Dirk Nowitzki,Chris Webber,Peja Stojaković,Stephon Marbury, andShaquille O'Neal. Five teams,Los Angeles Lakers,Dallas Mavericks,Houston Rockets,Sacramento Kings, andPhoenix Suns, had two representations at the All-Star Game with Bryant/O'Neal, Nash/Nowitzki, Francis/Yao, Webber/Stojaković and Marion/Marbury.
The Eastern Conference's leading vote-getter wasTracy McGrady, who earned his third consecutive All-Star Game selection with 1,316,297 votes.Allen Iverson,Vince Carter,Jermaine O'Neal, andBen Wallace completed the Eastern Conference starting position. This was Wallace's first All-Star selection, as he led the league in rebounding. This was also the fourth consecutive All-Star appearance by Iverson and Carter, and O'Neal's second appearance as an All-Star. The Eastern Conference reserves included three first-time selections,Brad Miller,Jamal Mashburn, andŽydrūnas Ilgauskas.Michael Jordan,Jason Kidd,Paul Pierce, andAntoine Walker rounded out the team. However, Carter relinquished his starting spot to Jordan, so he could start his final All-Star Game.[4] Two teams,Indiana Pacers andBoston Celtics, had two representations at the All-Star Game with O'Neal/Miller, and Walker/Pierce.
^INJ Chris Webber was unable to participate due to injury.
^REP Peja Stojaković was named as Webber's replacement.[5]
^1 Vince Carter relinquished his starting spot to Michael Jordan.
February 9, 2003 |
Kevin Garnett MVP |
| Western Conference155,Eastern Conference 145 (2OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–23,37–29, 31–41,34–27, Overtime: 18–18,17–7 | ||
| Pts:Kevin Garnett 37 Rebs:Tim Duncan 15 Asts:Steve Francis 9 | Pts:Allen Iverson 35 Rebs:Jermaine O'Neal 10 Asts:Jason Kidd 10 | |
The Western All-Stars won the game 155–145 in double overtime. It seemed the East were on way to a victory when Jordan hit ajump shot to give the East a 138–136 lead with 4.8 seconds remaining in overtime. However,Jermaine O'Neal fouledKobe Bryant while shooting athree-point field goal with one second remaining. Bryant hit two of the three shots to tie the game, resulting in the first double-overtime in All-Star history. In the second overtime,Kevin Garnett hit three jumpers in the post over a smallerVince Carter to lead the West to victory. Garnett won theMVP award after scoring a game-high 37 points. It was Jordan's final All-Star game. After decliningAllen Iverson andTracy McGrady's offers to give him their starting spot, he acceptedVince Carter's last minute offer.[6][7]
The halftime show featuredMariah Carey wearing a dress in the style of Jordan's Wizards jersey who sang the songHero, alongside a video montage celebrating Jordan's career. Afterwards, Carey introduced Jordan to a standing ovation from both the West and East all-stars and the crowd. Jordan thanked his former teammates, adversaries, family, and the fans for everything he had achieved in his career, ending with him saying that he can go home and be at peace with the game of basketball.[8]
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | First round | Final round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G/F | Jason Richardson | Golden State Warriors | 6–6 | 225 | 100 | 96 |
| G/F | Desmond Mason | Seattle SuperSonics | 6–5 | 222 | 90 | 93 |
| F | Amar'e Stoudemire | Phoenix Suns | 6-11 | 245 | 79 | — |
| F | Richard Jefferson | New Jersey Nets | 6–7 | 230 | 74 | — |
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height | Weight | First round | Final round | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | Peja Stojaković | Sacramento Kings | 6–10 | 229 | 19 | 20 | 22 |
| G | Wesley Person | Memphis Grizzlies | 6-6 | 195 | 14 | 20 | 16 |
| G | Brent Barry | Seattle SuperSonics | 6–7 | 210 | 19 | 17 | — |
| F | Pat Garrity | Orlando Magic | 6–9 | 238 | 13 | — | — |
| G/F | David Wesley | New Orleans Hornets | 6–1 | 203 | 12 | — | — |
| F | Antoine Walker | Boston Celtics | 6–9 | 265 | 7 | — | — |