2002-03 NBA Season Standings
The San Antonio Spurs, led by Tim Duncan and David Robinson in Robinson's final season, won the championship, beating the New Jersey Nets 4-2 in the Finals. This was the last season before the 2002 Charlotte-to-New Orleans Hornets relocation had fully settled the league into 29 teams (the Charlotte Bobcats expansion team did not begin play until 2004-05), so the league used the old two-division-per-conference format (Atlantic/Central in the East, Midwest/Pacific in the West) with only 15 Eastern and 14 Western teams. Detroit (50-32, Central champion) edged New Jersey (49-33, Atlantic champion) for the East's top seed since only the two division winners were guaranteed the top two seeds, ranked by record. San Antonio and Dallas tied for the NBA's best record at 60-22, with the Spurs awarded the West's 1-seed via conference-record tiebreaker over Dallas, who was not a division winner (Midwest) and thus seeded 3rd behind Pacific champion Sacramento.
Sourcing caveat: The NBA had only 29 teams this season (Charlotte's original Hornets had just relocated to New Orleans and the Bobcats expansion team had not yet joined), giving the East 15 teams and the West only 14; the league also still used the old two-division-per-conference alignment (Atlantic/Central and Midwest/Pacific), so only two division winners per conference were guaranteed top seeds rather than three.
Eastern Conference
| Seed | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DPDetroit Pistons | 50 | 32 | .610 | - |
| 2 | NJNNew Jersey Nets | 49 | 33 | .598 | 1 |
| 3 | IPIndiana Pacers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2 |
| 4 | P7Philadelphia 76ers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 2 |
| 5 | NOHNew Orleans Hornets | 47 | 35 | .573 | 3 |
| 6 | BCBoston Celtics | 44 | 38 | .537 | 6 |
| 7 | MBMilwaukee Bucks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 8 |
| 8 | OMOrlando Magic | 42 | 40 | .512 | 8 |
| 9 | WWWashington Wizards | 37 | 45 | .451 | 13 |
| 10 | NYKNew York Knicks | 37 | 45 | .451 | 13 |
| 11 | AHAtlanta Hawks | 35 | 47 | .427 | 15 |
| 12 | CBChicago Bulls | 30 | 52 | .366 | 20 |
| 13 | MHMiami Heat | 25 | 57 | .305 | 25 |
| 14 | TRToronto Raptors | 24 | 58 | .293 | 26 |
| 15 | CCCleveland Cavaliers | 17 | 65 | .207 | 33 |
Western Conference
| Seed | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SASSan Antonio Spurs | 60 | 22 | .732 | - |
| 2 | SKSacramento Kings | 59 | 23 | .720 | 1 |
| 3 | DMDallas Mavericks | 60 | 22 | .732 | 0 |
| 4 | MTMinnesota Timberwolves | 51 | 31 | .622 | 9 |
| 5 | LALLos Angeles Lakers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 10 |
| 6 | PTBPortland Trail Blazers | 50 | 32 | .610 | 10 |
| 7 | UJUtah Jazz | 47 | 35 | .573 | 13 |
| 8 | PSPhoenix Suns | 44 | 38 | .537 | 16 |
| 9 | HRHouston Rockets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 17 |
| 10 | SSSeattle SuperSonics | 40 | 42 | .488 | 20 |
| 11 | GSWGolden State Warriors | 38 | 44 | .463 | 22 |
| 12 | MGMemphis Grizzlies | 28 | 54 | .341 | 32 |
| 13 | LACLos Angeles Clippers | 27 | 55 | .329 | 33 |
| 14 | DNDenver Nuggets | 17 | 65 | .207 | 43 |
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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