2002–03 British Basketball League season
The 2002–03 season was the 16th campaign in the history of the British Basketball League.
Teams
Team | City/Area | Arena | Capacity | Last season |
Birmingham Bullets | Birmingham | Aston Events Centre | 2,000 | 5th |
Brighton Bears | Brighton | Brighton Centre & Burgess Hill Triangle | 3,600 1,800 | 2nd |
Chester Jets | Chester | Northgate Arena | 1,000 | 1st |
Essex Leopards | Brentwood | Brentwood Centre | 2,000 | 4th |
Leicester Riders | Loughborough | Loughborough University | 1,000 | 5th |
London Towers | London | Crystal Palace National Sports Centre | 3,500 | 1st |
Milton Keynes Lions | Milton Keynes | Bletchley Centre | 800 | 3rd |
Newcastle Eagles | Newcastle upon Tyne | Telewest Arena | 6,500 | 3rd |
Scottish Rocks | Glasgow | Braehead Arena | 4,000 | 4th |
Sheffield Sharks | Sheffield | Hallam FM Arena & Ponds Forge | 8,500 1,600 | 2nd |
Thames Valley Tigers | Bracknell | John Nike Sports Centre | 1,000 | 6th |
Notable occurrences
- Attracted by the opening of the brand-new 4,000-seat Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Edinburgh Rocks uprooted from their aging Meadowbank venue in Edinburgh and moved 45 miles west to Scotland's largest city Glasgow, and rebranded as the Scottish Rocks. The move received a mixed response from fans; whilst many said that the move would not work, the official supporters club backed the franchise's decision.
- Although based in Brentwood, Essex for the past two years, Greater London Leopards eventually rebranded the franchise as the Essex Leopards prior to the season starting.
- Due to a decreasing membership, the league abolished the Conference system it had imposed for the past three seasons and returned the regular single-league table set-up, with the top eight teams progressing to the play-offs.
BBL Championship (Tier 1)
Final standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
1 | Sheffield Sharks | 40 | 33 | 7 | 0.825 | 66 |
2 | Brighton Bears | 40 | 30 | 10 | 0.750 | 60 |
3 | Chester Jets | 40 | 28 | 12 | 0.700 | 56 |
4 | Thames Valley Tigers | 40 | 26 | 14 | 0.650 | 52 |
5 | Newcastle Eagles | 40 | 25 | 15 | 0.625 | 50 |
6 | Scottish Rocks | 40 | 22 | 18 | 0.550 | 44 |
7 | London Towers | 40 | 19 | 21 | 0.475 | 38 |
8 | Milton Keynes Lions | 40 | 12 | 28 | 0.300 | 24 |
9 | Birmingham Bullets | 40 | 11 | 29 | 0.275 | 22 |
10 | Essex Leopards | 40 | 11 | 29 | 0.275 | 22 |
11 | Leicester Riders | 40 | 3 | 37 | 0.075 | 6 |
The Play-offs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
National League Conference (Tier 2)
Final standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | % | Pts |
1 | Teesside Mohawks | 22 | 21 | 1 | 0.955 | 42 |
2 | Plymouth Raiders | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0.818 | 36 |
3 | Reading Rockets | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 32 |
4 | Worthing Thunder | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0.682 | 30 |
5 | Manchester Magic | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0.545 | 24 |
6 | Kingston Wildcats | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
7 | Sutton Pumas | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
8 | Oxford Devils | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0.500 | 22 |
9 | Solent Stars | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0.318 | 14 |
10 | Ware Rebels | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0.182 | 8 |
11 | Hackney White Heat | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |
12 | Coventry Crusaders | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0.136 | 6 |
National Cup
Last 16
Quarter Finals
Semi Finals
Final
BBL Trophy
This season's BBL Trophy featured all 11 BBL teams plus one invited teams from the English Basketball League, the Teesside Mohawks to bring the total number of teams divided evenly. The First Round saw all 12 teams split into four regionalised groups with the top finishing team advancing to the Semi-finals.Group Stage
Northern Group 1Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
1.Chester Jets | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
2.Sheffield Sharks | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
3.Leicester Riders | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
Southern Group 1
Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
1.Birmingham Bullets | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
2.Essex Leopards | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
3.Milton Keynes Lions | 2 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 |
Northern Group 2
Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
1.Newcastle Eagles | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
2.Scottish Rocks | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
3.Teesside Mohawks | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 |
Southern Group 2
Team | Pts | Pld | W | L | Percent |
1.London Towers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
2.Thames Valley Tigers | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
3.Brighton Bears | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics leaders
Category | Player | Stat |
Points per game | Kenny Gregory | 24.7 |
Rebounds per game | David Fisher | 10.5 |
Assists per game | John Thomas | 7.3 |