2002–03 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the 14th season the Timberwolves has competed in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Timberwolves signed free agents Troy Hudson and Kendall Gill. Kevin Garnett performed well throughout the season, winning the All-Star MVP award in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game, and finishing second in MVP voting behind MVP Tim Duncan. Despite losing Terrell Brandon for the entire season to a knee injury, the Timberwolves posted a 12–1 record in February and finished the season with a 51–31 record, good enough to earn the fourth seed in the Western Conference and home court advantage.

However, for the seventh straight year in the Garnett era, the Timberwolves did not make it out of the first round of the playoffs. They lost to 5th seeds and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Following the season, Joe Smith was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks, Anthony Peeler signed as a free agent with the Sacramento Kings, and Gill signed with the Chicago Bulls.

Draft picks

Roster

Roster listing

2002–03 Minnesota Timberwolves roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From G 7 Brandon, Terrell  (IN) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oregon F/C 21 Garnett, Kevin 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Farragut Academy (HS) G/F 9 Gill, Kendall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Illinois G 16 Hudson, Troy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Southern Illinois C 25 Jackson, Marc 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Temple G 13 López, Felipe  (IN) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) St. John's C 8 Nesterović, Rasho 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Slovenia G 44 Peeler, Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Missouri G 36 Rakocevic, Igor  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Serbia F 32 Smith, Joe 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Maryland G 1 Strickland, Rod 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) DePaul G/F 10 Szczerbiak, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Miami (OH) F 20 Trent, Gary 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Ohio G 29 Wilks, Mike 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Rice C 3 Woods, Loren 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Arizona	Head coach Flip Saunders (Minnesota) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Note

'Bold' = All-Star Selection

Roster Notes

• Guard Terrell Brandon missed the entire season due to a knee injury.
• Guard Felipe Lopez missed the entire season due to a torn ACL and MCL in left knee.

Regular season

Season standings

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(4) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (5) Los Angeles Lakers Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Timberwolves and Lakers.

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

• Kevin Garnett, All-NBA First Team
• Kevin Garnett, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Kevin Garnett, NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award

Transactions

See also

• 2002-03 NBA season