2002–03 Washington Wizards season


The 2002–03 Washington Wizards season was the 42nd season for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association, and their 30th season in Washington, D.C.. This also marked the 15th and final season for All-Star guard, and NBA legend Michael Jordan, who retired for the third and final time at the age of 40. During the off-season, the Wizards acquired All-Star guard Jerry Stackhouse from the Detroit Pistons, and signed free agents Larry Hughes, Bryon Russell, and Charles Oakley. Retired All-Star center Patrick Ewing was hired as the team's assistant coach.
With the addition of Stackhouse and Hughes, the Wizards got off to a promising 6–4 start to the regular season, but then fell below.500 in winning percentage by posting a six-game losing streak afterwards. The team posted a five-game winning streak between December and January, and later on held a 24–25 record at the All-Star break. However, the Wizards lost 8 of their final 11 games of the season, and finished in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 37–45 record, which was the same record as the previous season, as the team missed the NBA playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.
Stackhouse averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 assists per game, while Jordan finished second on the team in scoring averaging 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and Hughes provided the team with 12.8 points and 1.3 steals per game. In addition, Tyronn Lue contributed 8.6 points and 3.5 assists per game, while Christian Laettner provided with 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Kwame Brown averaged 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, rookie point guard Juan Dixon contributed 6.4 points per game, but only played just 42 games due to injury, second-year center Brendan Haywood averaged 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and Russell provided with 4.5 points per game.
Jordan played his final NBA game on April 16, 2003, in a 107–87 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at the First Union Center. During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Jordan was selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his 14th and final All-Star selection. Jordan scored 20 points despite only making 9 out of 27 field-goal attempts; however, the Eastern Conference lost to the Western Conference in double-overtime, 155–145.
Following the season, Russell signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Lue signed with the Orlando Magic, Oakley was released to free agency, and head coach Doug Collins was fired after two seasons with the Wizards.

Offseason

NBA draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
111Jared JeffriesForwardIndiana
117Juan DixonGuardMaryland
238Rod GrizzardGuardAlabama
239Juan Carlos NavarroGuardFC Barcelona

Regular season

After Jordan announced he would return for the 2002–03 season, he was determined to be have reinforcements around him. He traded for All-Star Jerry Stackhouse and signed budding star Larry Hughes. Jordan even accepted a sixth-man role to prepare himself for the rigors of the 82-game grind. Still dealing with nagging knee issues, he came off from the bench in the first 15 games. However, a combination of injuries and uninspired play led to Jordan's return to the starting lineup, where he tried to put the team in playoff contention after a 6–9 start. The move led to mixed results, as several of Jordan's younger teammates complained about playing in his immense shadow and as well as what they perceived to be unfair expectations for them.
By the end of the season, the Wizards finished with a 37–45 record once again. At the age of 40, Jordan ended the season as the only Wizard to play in all 82 games. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 37.0 minutes per game. He also became the only 40-year-old in NBA history to score over 40 points in a game, which he did several times during the season. In addition, Jordan became the oldest NBA player in NBA history to average at least 20 points at the age of 40. This was also the first season in which Jordan was not his team's high scorer, as Stackhouse averaged 21.5 per game. Jordan paced the team in steals, while Christian Laettner led the team in rebounds, Stackhouse in assists and Brendan Haywood in blocked shots.
After the season, Wizards' majority owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as team president, much to the shock of teammates, associates and fans alike. Jordan felt he was betrayed, thinking that he would get his ownership back after his playing days ended, but Pollin justified Jordan's dismissal by noting that Jordan had detrimental effects on the team, such as benching Larry Hughes for Tyronn Lue, making poor trades, and squandering the teams' first round pick at the 2001 NBA draft on high schooler Kwame Brown who never panned out. Despite the signing of future All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas the team stumbled to a 25–57 record in the 2003–04 season.
Jordan's stint with the Wizards was closely watched by both fans and the media. While the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in either of Jordan's two seasons as a player, despite the Wizards not being in the upper tiers of NBA standings, the team sold-out arenas around the league. The Wizards replaced Jordan's managerial role with general manager Ernie Grunfeld. Although the organization fielded a competitive team built around Arenas for several years, the team again stumbled into the lower echelon of the league in the years following Arenas' numerous off-the-court issues.

Player statistics

Regular season

Player statistics citation:

Award winners