2002–03 Portland Trail Blazers season


The 2002–03 NBA season was the 33rd season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, Arvydas Sabonis came out of his retirement and returned to play for the Blazers, who got off to a mediocre 10–11 start, but then posted an 8-game winning streak in December. The team finished 50–32, making the playoffs for the 21st consecutive year and 26th year of the last 27. In the playoffs, the 6th-seeded Blazers battled the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, and fell four games to three.. The Blazers remain the last team to force a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 in a best-of-seven series after the 1950-51 Knicks in the NBA Finals and the 1993-94 Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals, though no team has come back to win an NBA playoff series after trailing 3-0.
The Blazers' 107–95 Game 7 loss to the Mavericks in Dallas would be the venerable franchise's last playoff game for six years, as the historic postseason streak ended in 2003–04 with a mediocre 41–41 record; two seasons followed in which they failed to win even 30 games. Following the season, Scottie Pippen re-signed as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls, and Sabonis retired for the second time.
For the season, the Blazers changed their logo which only lasted for just one season, and added red road alternate uniforms.

Draft picks

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club Team
121Qyntel WoodsFNE Mississippi CC
243Jason JenningsCArkansas State
251Federico KammerichsFOurense

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

Dallas Mavericks vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Last Playoff Meeting: 1990 Western Conference First Round

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Transactions

Overview