2003–04 NBA season

The 2003–04 NBA season was the 58th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Detroit Pistons defeating the Los Angeles Lakers 4–1 in the 2004 NBA Finals.^[1]

2003–04 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 28, 2003 – April 14, 2004 April 17 – June 1, 2004 (Playoffs) June 6 – 15, 2004 (Finals)
Number of teams	29
TV partner(s)	ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV
Draft
Top draft pick	LeBron James
Picked by	Cleveland Cavaliers
Regular season
Top seed	Indiana Pacers
Season MVP	Kevin Garnett (Minnesota)
Top scorer	Tracy McGrady (Orlando)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Detroit Pistons
Eastern runners-up	Indiana Pacers
Western champions	Los Angeles Lakers
Western runners-up	Minnesota Timberwolves
Finals
Champions	Detroit Pistons
Runners-up	Los Angeles Lakers
Finals MVP	Chauncey Billups (Detroit)
NBA seasons
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

The San Antonio Spurs hosting the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals at the SBC Center.

Events

This was the last season for the original two-division format in both the Eastern and Western Conferences, before each of the conferences added a third division the following season. As a result, this would also be the final season for the NBA Midwest Division, as the Minnesota Timberwolves were that division's last champion, the only division title the franchise has won in their twenty-nine seasons in the NBA.

The All-Star Game was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The West won 136–132; Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal was named Most Valuable Player.

For the first time in 21 years the Portland Trail Blazers did not make the playoffs, ending the second longest streak in NBA history. For the first time in 20 years the Utah Jazz did not make the playoffs, ending the third longest streak in NBA history.

The Houston Rockets played their first game at the Toyota Center. They reached the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and lost to the eventual Conference champion Lakers in five games. This marked the only playoff appearance of Steve Francis NBA career.

Prior to the start of the season, Karl Malone and Gary Payton took major paycuts to leave their teams and join Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal on the Lakers for a chance at a possible NBA title. However, that title chase came to an end in the NBA Finals, as the Detroit Pistons won 4–1. The Minnesota Timberwolves, behind their "Big Three" of Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell, and Sam Cassell, amassed the best record in the Western Conference, and were expected to finally win a first round playoff series. They won two and advanced to the Western Conference Finals, which they lost to the Lakers. It would be their last playoff appearance until the 2017–18 season.

LeBron James (1st overall to Cleveland), Carmelo Anthony (3rd overall to Denver), Chris Bosh (4th overall to Toronto), and Dwyane Wade (5th overall to Miami), among others, formed one of the strongest drafts in NBA history. Among the highly touted rookies, Anthony and Wade led their teams to the playoffs, and Wade's play pushed the Heat into the second round. James went on to win NBA Rookie of the Year. Anthony became the first NBA rookie to lead a playoff team in scoring since David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs during the 1989–90 season.

The Memphis Grizzlies qualified for the postseason for the first time in the franchise's then 9 year history, dating back to their days in Vancouver. With a record of 50–32, it was also the first time they posted a winning season. It was also their last season played at Pyramid Arena.

Tracy McGrady was the first scoring leader since Bernard King in 1984–85 whose team did not make the playoffs.

General Motors ended its sponsorship deal with the NBA after this season (having rotated among all eight of its U.S. divisions, including Saturn and Hummer), after which Toyota would become the new official partner.

Coaching

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	2002–03 coach	2003–04 coach
Cleveland Cavaliers	Keith Smart	Paul Silas
Detroit Pistons	Rick Carlisle	Larry Brown^[2]
Houston Rockets	Rudy Tomjanovich	Jeff Van Gundy
Indiana Pacers	Isiah Thomas	Rick Carlisle
Los Angeles Clippers	Dennis Johnson	Mike Dunleavy, Sr.
Miami Heat	Pat Riley	Stan Van Gundy
Milwaukee Bucks	George Karl	Terry Porter
New Orleans Hornets	Paul Silas	Tim Floyd
Philadelphia 76ers	Larry Brown	Randy Ayers
Toronto Raptors	Lenny Wilkens	Kevin O'Neill
Washington Wizards	Doug Collins	Eddie Jordan
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Boston Celtics	Jim O'Brien	John Carroll
Chicago Bulls	Bill Cartwright	Pete Myers
	Pete Myers	Scott Skiles
New Jersey Nets	Byron Scott	Lawrence Frank
New York Knicks	Don Chaney	Herb Williams
	Herb Williams	Lenny Wilkens
Orlando Magic	Doc Rivers	Johnny Davis
Philadelphia 76ers	Randy Ayers	Chris Ford
Phoenix Suns	Frank Johnson	Mike D'Antoni

2003–04 NBA changes

• Cleveland Cavaliers – added new logo and new uniforms, brought back the original wine and gold to their color scheme, added dark navy blue trim to their color scheme replacing black, light blue and orange, also added side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
• Denver Nuggets – added new logo and new uniforms, replacing dark navy blue, red and gold with light blue and gold, added side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
• Dallas Mavericks – added new grey road alternate uniforms.
• Houston Rockets – added new logo and new uniforms, replacing dark navy blue, red and grey colors with remained red and grey, and moved into their new arena the Toyota Center.
• Orlando Magic – changed their uniforms and wordmarks on their jerseys.
• Phoenix Suns – added new orange road alternate uniforms with grey side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
• Portland Trail Blazers – slightly once again changed their primary logo.
• Toronto Raptors – added new red road alternate uniforms with black and grey side panels to their jerseys and shorts.

Standings

By division

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-New Jersey Nets 47 35 .573 – 28–13 19–22 18–7 x-Miami Heat 42 40 .512 5 29–12 13–28 15–10 x-New York Knicks 39 43 .476 8 23–18 16–25 15–7 x-Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 11 19–22 17–24 14–10 Philadelphia 76ers 33 49 .402 14 21–20 12–29 10–14 Washington Wizards 25 57 .305 22 17–24 8–33 3–21 Orlando Magic 21 61 .256 26 11–30 10–31 8–16 Central Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Indiana Pacers 61 21 .744 – 34–7 27–14 20–8 x-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 7 31–10 23–18 17–11 x-New Orleans Hornets 41 41 .500 20 25–16 16–25 14–14 x-Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 20 27–14 14–27 15–13 Cleveland Cavaliers 35 47 .427 26 23–18 12–29 14–14 Toronto Raptors 33 49 .402 28 18–23 15–26 11–17 Atlanta Hawks 28 54 .341 33 18–23 10–31 10–18 Chicago Bulls 23 59 .280 38 14–27 9–32 11–17

Western Conference Midwest Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Minnesota Timberwolves 58 24 .707 – 31–10 27–14 14–10 x-San Antonio Spurs 57 25 .695 1 33–8 24–17 15–9 x-Dallas Mavericks 52 30 .634 6 36–5 16–25 14–10 x-Memphis Grizzlies 50 32 .610 8 31–10 19–22 12–12 x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13 27–14 18–23 8–16 x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 15 29–12 14–27 11–13 Utah Jazz 42 40 .512 16 28–13 14–27 10–14 Pacific Division v t e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 – 34–7 22–19 15–9 x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 1 34–7 21–20 16–8 Portland Trail Blazers 41 41 .500 15 25–16 16–25 13–11 Seattle SuperSonics 37 45 .451 19 21–20 16–25 11–13 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 19 27–14 10–31 12–12 Phoenix Suns 29 53 .354 27 18–23 11–30 9–15 Los Angeles Clippers 28 54 .341 28 18–23 10–31 8–16

By conference

# Eastern Conference v t e Team W L PCT GB 1 z-Indiana Pacers 61 21 .744 – 2 y-New Jersey Nets 47 35 .573 14 3 x-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 7 4 x-Miami Heat 42 40 .512 19 5 x-New Orleans Hornets 41 41 .500 20 6 x-Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 20 7 x-New York Knicks 39 43 .476 22 8 x-Boston Celtics 36 46 .439 25 9 Cleveland Cavaliers 35 47 .427 26 10 Toronto Raptors 33 49 .402 28 11 Philadelphia 76ers 33 49 .402 28 12 Atlanta Hawks 28 54 .341 33 13 Washington Wizards 25 57 .305 36 14 Chicago Bulls 23 59 .280 38 15 Orlando Magic 21 61 .256 40

# Western Conference v t e Team W L PCT GB 1 c-Minnesota Timberwolves 58 24 .707 – 2 y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 2 3 x-San Antonio Spurs 57 25 .695 1 4 x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 3 5 x-Dallas Mavericks 52 30 .634 6 6 x-Memphis Grizzlies 50 32 .610 8 7 x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13 8 x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 15 9 Utah Jazz 42 40 .512 16 10 Portland Trail Blazers 41 41 .500 17 11 Seattle SuperSonics 37 45 .451 21 12 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 21 13 Phoenix Suns 29 53 .354 29 14 Los Angeles Clippers 28 54 .341 30

Notes

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
• y – Clinched division title
• x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its conference, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. The division champions are marked by an asterisk. Home court advantage does not necessarily belong to the higher-seeded team, but instead the team with the better regular season record; teams enjoying the home advantage are shown in italics.

This section is an excerpt from 2004 NBA playoffs § Bracket.[edit]

Conference Quarterfinals

Conference Semifinals

Conference Finals

NBA Finals

E1

Indiana*

4

E8

Boston

0

E1

Indiana*

4

E4

Miami

2

E4

Miami

4

E5

New Orleans

3

E1

Indiana*

2

Eastern Conference

E3

Detroit

4

E3

Detroit

4

E6

Milwaukee

1

E3

Detroit

4

E2

New Jersey*

3

E2

New Jersey*

4

E7

New York

0

E3

Detroit

4

W2

LA Lakers*

1

W1

Minnesota*

4

W8

Denver

1

W1

Minnesota*

4

W4

Sacramento

3

W4

Sacramento

4

W5

Dallas

1

W1

Minnesota*

2

Western Conference

W2

LA Lakers*

4

W3

San Antonio

4

W6

Memphis

0

W3

San Antonio

2

W2

LA Lakers*

4

W2

LA Lakers*

4

W7

Houston

1

• * Division winner
• Bold Series winner
• Italic Team with home-court advantage

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points per game	Tracy McGrady	Orlando Magic	28.0
Rebounds per game	Kevin Garnett	Minnesota Timberwolves	13.9
Assists per game	Jason Kidd	New Jersey Nets	9.2
Steals per game	Baron Davis	New Orleans Hornets	2.36
Blocks per game	Theo Ratliff	Portland Trail Blazers	3.61
FG%	Shaquille O'Neal	Los Angeles Lakers	.584
FT%	Peja Stojaković	Sacramento Kings	.927
3FG%	Anthony Peeler	Sacramento Kings	.482

Awards

Yearly awards

• Most Valuable Player: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Rookie of the Year: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Defensive Player of the Year: Ron Artest, Indiana Pacers
• Sixth Man of the Year: Antawn Jamison, Dallas Mavericks
• Most Improved Player: Zach Randolph, Portland Trail Blazers
• Coach of the Year: Hubie Brown, Memphis Grizzlies
• Executive of the Year: Jerry West, Memphis Grizzlies
• Sportsmanship Award: P. J. Brown, New Orleans Hornets
• J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award: Reggie Miller, Indiana Pacers

All-NBA First Team: F – Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves F – Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs C – Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers G – Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers G – Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets

All-NBA Second Team: F – Peja Stojaković, Sacramento Kings F – Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers C – Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons G – Tracy McGrady, Orlando Magic G – Sam Cassell, Minnesota Timberwolves

All-NBA Third Team F – Ron Artest, Indiana Pacers F – Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks C – Yao Ming, Houston Rockets G – Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks G – Baron Davis, New Orleans Hornets

NBA All-Defensive First Team: F – Ron Artest, Indiana Pacers F – Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves C – Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons G – Bruce Bowen, San Antonio Spurs G – Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

NBA All-Defensive Second Team F – Andrei Kirilenko, Utah Jazz F – Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs C – Theo Ratliff, Portland Trail Blazers G – Doug Christie, Sacramento Kings G – Jason Kidd, New Jersey Nets

NBA All-Rookie First Team: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls

All-Rookie Second Team: Udonis Haslem, Miami Heat Marquis Daniels, Dallas Mavericks Jarvis Hayes, Washington Wizards Josh Howard, Dallas Mavericks T. J. Ford, Milwaukee Bucks

Players of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month.

Month	Eastern Conference	Western Conference
October – November	Baron Davis (New Orleans Hornets) (1/1)	Peja Stojaković (Sacramento Kings) (1/1)
December	Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers) (1/1)	Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (1/4)
January	Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) (1/1)	Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (2/4)
February	Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets) (1/1)	Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (3/4)
March	Lamar Odom (Miami Heat) (1/1)	Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
April	Jamaal Magloire (New Orleans Hornets) (1/1)	Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) (4/4)

Rookies of the month

The following players were named the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month.

Month	Eastern Conference	Western Conference
October – November	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (1/6)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (1/6)
December	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (2/6)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (2/6)
January	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (3/6)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (3/6)
February	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (4/6)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (4/6)
March	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (5/6)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (5/6)
April	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) (6/6)	Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) (6/6)

Coaches of the month

The following coaches were named the Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month.

Month	Eastern Conference	Western Conference
October – November	Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers) (1/1)	Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers) (1/1)
December	Byron Scott (New Jersey Nets) (1/1)	Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs) (1/1)
January	Larry Brown (Detroit Pistons) (1/2)	Rick Adelman (Sacramento Kings) (1/1)
February	Lawrence Frank (New Jersey Nets) (1/1)	Hubie Brown (Memphis Grizzlies) (1/2)
March	Stan Van Gundy (Miami Heat) (1/1)	Hubie Brown (Memphis Grizzlies) (2/2)
April	Larry Brown (Detroit Pistons) (2/2)	Flip Saunders (Minnesota Timberwolves) (1/1)

References

1. "Season Review: 2003-04". NBA.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
2. "The Revival of the Bad Boys: The '04 Pistons – HistoryLocker". historylocker.com. Retrieved December 29, 2022.