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2003 NBA draft

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2003 NBA draft
General information
SportBasketball
Date(s)June 26, 2003
LocationThe Theater at Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York)
Network(s)ESPN
Overview
58 total selections in 2 rounds
LeagueNBA
First selectionLeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
← 2002
2004 →

The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2003 NBA draft.[1] The Cleveland Cavaliers, who had a 22.50 percent probability of obtaining the first selection, won the NBA draft lottery on May 22, and Cleveland chairman Gordon Gund said afterward his team would select LeBron James.[2] The Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets were second and third, respectively. This draft was the first draft to be aired on ESPN after they picked up the license from TNT.

The 2003 draftees represented one of the deepest talent pools in NBA history. The draft contained 15 players who combined for 26 championships. Four of the top five picks are NBA All-Stars and "Redeem Team" Olympic Gold Medalists: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James.

Overview

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Four of the top five picks of the 2003 draft became NBA All-Stars and "Redeem Team" Olympic Gold Medalists: Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James. Nine players have participated in an All-Star Game. Dwyane Wade was named NBA Finals MVP in 2006 and won NBA championships with the Miami Heat in 2006, 2012 and 2013, as well as the NBA All Star Game MVP in 2010. Boris Diaw won the Most Improved Player Award in 2006, Jason Kapono won the three point shootout in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008, James Jones won the three point shootout in 2011, Leandro Barbosa won the Sixth Man Award in 2007, Kyle Korver set the NBA record for three point shooting percentage in 2010 (53.6%), and in the 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 seasons, LeBron James won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, and the NBA Finals MVP in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2020. Carmelo Anthony won the 2013 NBA scoring title and was the only player in NBA history to win at least three Olympic gold medals[3] until Kevin Durant won his third one in 2021. Zaza Pachulia and David West won NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. Matt Bonner won NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs in 2007 and 2014. Dahntay Jones and Mo Williams won the NBA championship in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Luke Walton won three NBA championships, two as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010 and one as an assistant coach with the Warriors in 2015. Chris Bosh left the Toronto Raptors in 2010 as its all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, double doubles, free throws made and attempted, and minutes played; he went on to win championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.

The 2003 draft class has drawn comparisons to the 1984 and 1996 NBA draft classes[4] but is also known for the Detroit Pistons' selection of Darko Miličić with the second overall pick over other prospects who went on to have much more success in the league.[4] As of 2024, James is the only remaining active player from the 2003 draft class.

Eleven of the players selected in this draft never played in an NBA game throughout their professional basketball careers. Two of those players were the sole selection of the draft by their respective teams: Malick Badiane (Houston's only pick) and Paccelis Morlende (Philadelphia's only pick).

Draft selections

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LeBron James was one of the most anticipated first overall draft picks in the history of any sport. He is the second high school draftee to be a first overall pick, the first being Kwame Brown in 2001, and was followed by Dwight Howard in 2004.[5]
Carmelo Anthony was selected 3rd overall by the Denver Nuggets.
Chris Bosh, selected 4th overall by the Toronto Raptors, was the first member of the draft class to be elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Dwyane Wade was selected 5th overall by the Miami Heat.
Chris Kaman was selected 6th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers.
David West was selected 18th overall by the New Orleans Hornets.
Josh Howard was selected 29th overall by the Dallas Mavericks.
Mo Williams was selected 47th overall by the Utah Jazz.
Kyle Korver was selected 51st overall by the New Jersey Nets (traded to the Philadelphia 76ers).
PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center
^ Denotes player who has been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
* Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game and All-NBA Team
+ Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Star Game
# Denotes player who has never appeared in an NBA regular season or playoff game
~ Denotes player who has been selected as Rookie of the Year
Round Pick Player Position Nationality[n 1] Team School/Club Team
1 1 LeBron James*~ SF/PF  United States Cleveland Cavaliers St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (Akron, Ohio)
1 2 Darko Miličić C  Serbia and Montenegro Detroit Pistons (from Memphis)[6] Hemofarm Vršac (Serbia and Montenegro)
1 3 Carmelo Anthony* SF/PF  United States Denver Nuggets Syracuse (Fr.)
1 4 Chris Bosh^ PF/C  United States Toronto Raptors Georgia Tech (Fr.)
1 5 Dwyane Wade^ SG  United States Miami Heat Marquette (Jr.)
1 6 Chris Kaman+ C  United States Los Angeles Clippers Central Michigan (Jr.)
1 7 Kirk Hinrich PG  United States Chicago Bulls Kansas (Sr.)
1 8 T. J. Ford PG  United States Milwaukee Bucks (from Atlanta)[7] Texas (So.)
1 9 Michael Sweetney PF  United States New York Knicks Georgetown (Jr.)
1 10 Jarvis Hayes F/G  United States Washington Wizards Georgia (Jr.)
1 11 Mickaël Piétrus G/F  France Golden State Warriors Pau-Orthez (France)
1 12 Nick Collison PF  United States Seattle SuperSonics Kansas (Sr.)
1 13 Marcus Banks PG  United States Memphis Grizzlies (from Houston,[8] traded to Boston)[9] UNLV (Sr)
1 14 Luke Ridnour PG  United States Seattle SuperSonics (from Milwaukee)[10] Oregon (Jr)
1 15 Reece Gaines F/G  United States Orlando Magic Louisville (Sr)
1 16 Troy Bell PG  United States Boston Celtics (traded to Memphis)[9] Boston College (Sr)
1 17 Žarko Čabarkapa SF  Serbia and Montenegro Phoenix Suns Budućnost Podgorica (Serbia and Montenegro and Adriatic League)
1 18 David West+ PF  United States New Orleans Hornets Xavier (Sr)
1 19 Sasha Pavlović F/G  Serbia and Montenegro Utah Jazz Budućnost Podgorica (Serbia and Montenegro and Adriatic League)
1 20 Dahntay Jones SG  United States Boston Celtics (from Philadelphia,[11] traded to Memphis)[9] Duke (Sr)
1 21 Boris Diaw PF  France Atlanta Hawks (from Indiana)[12] Pau-Orthez (France)
1 22 Zoran Planinić G/F  Croatia New Jersey Nets Cibona Zagreb (Croatia and Adriatic League)
1 23 Travis Outlaw SF  United States Portland Trail Blazers Starkville HS (Starkville, Mississippi)
1 24 Brian Cook PF  United States Los Angeles Lakers Illinois (Sr)
1 25 Carlos Delfino SG  Argentina Detroit Pistons Skipper Bologna (Italy)
1 26 Ndudi Ebi SF  United Kingdom
 Nigeria
Minnesota Timberwolves Westbury Christian HS (Houston, Texas)
1 27 Kendrick Perkins C  United States Memphis Grizzlies (from Sacramento via Orlando,[13] traded to Boston)[9] Ozen HS (Beaumont, Texas)
1 28 Leandro Barbosa SG  Brazil San Antonio Spurs (traded to Phoenix)[14] Bauru Tilibra (Brazil)
1 29 Josh Howard+ F/G  United States Dallas Mavericks Wake Forest (Sr)
2 30 Maciej Lampe PF  Poland New York Knicks (from Denver)[15] Complutense University of Madrid (Spain)
2 31 Jason Kapono F/G  United States Cleveland Cavaliers UCLA (Sr)
2 32 Luke Walton SF  United States Los Angeles Lakers (from Toronto)[16] Arizona (Sr)
2 33 Jerome Beasley PF  United States Miami Heat North Dakota (Sr)
2 34 Sofoklis Schortsanitis# C  Greece Los Angeles Clippers Iraklis BC (Greece)
2 35 Szymon Szewczyk# PF  Poland Milwaukee Bucks (from Memphis)[17] Braunschweig (Germany)
2 36 Mario Austin# PF  United States Chicago Bulls Mississippi State (Jr)
2 37 Travis Hansen SG  United States Atlanta Hawks BYU (Sr)
2 38 Steve Blake PG  United States Washington Wizards Maryland (Sr)
2 39 Slavko Vraneš C  Serbia and Montenegro New York Knicks Budućnost Podgorica (Serbia and Montenegro and Adriatic League)
2 40 Derrick Zimmerman PG  United States Golden State Warriors Mississippi State (Sr)
2 41 Willie Green SG  United States Seattle SuperSonics (traded to Philadelphia)[18] Detroit (Sr)
2 42 Zaza Pachulia PF  Georgia Orlando Magic Ülkerspor (Turkey)
2 43 Keith Bogans SG  United States Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Orlando)[19] Kentucky (Sr)
2 44 Malick Badiane# PF  Senegal Houston Rockets Langen (Germany)
2 45 Matt Bonner F  United States Chicago Bulls (from Phoenix,[20] traded to Toronto)[21] Florida (Sr)
2 46 Sani Bečirović# SG  Slovenia Denver Nuggets (from Boston)[22] Virtus Bologna (Italy)
2 47 Mo Williams+ PG  United States Utah Jazz Alabama (So)
2 48 James Lang C  United States New Orleans Hornets Central Park Christian HS (Birmingham, Alabama)
2 49 James Jones SF  United States Indiana Pacers Miami (Florida) (Sr)
2 50 Paccelis Morlende# PG  France Philadelphia 76ers (traded to Seattle)[18] Dijon (France)
2 51 Kyle Korver+ SG  United States New Jersey Nets (traded to Philadelphia)[23] Creighton (Sr)
2 52 Remon van de Hare C  Netherlands Toronto Raptors (from Los Angeles Lakers)[16] FC Barcelona (Spain)
2 53 Tommy Smith# PF  United States Chicago Bulls (from Detroit via Miami)[24] Arizona State (Sr)
2 54 Nedžad Sinanović# C  Bosnia and Herzegovina Portland Trail Blazers Brotnjo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
2 55 Rick Rickert# PF  United States Minnesota Timberwolves Minnesota (So)
2 56 Brandon Hunter PF  United States Boston Celtics (from Sacramento)[25] Ohio (Sr)
2 57 Xue Yuyang# C  China Dallas Mavericks (traded to Denver)[26] Hong Kong Flying Dragons (China)
2 58 Andreas Glyniadakis C  Greece Detroit Pistons (from San Antonio)[27] AEK (Greece)
  1. ^ Nationality indicates the player's national team or representative nationality. If a player has not competed at the international level, then the nationality indicates the national team which the player is eligible to represent according to FIBA rules.

^ a: Chris Kaman was born in the United States, but also has German citizenship through his great-grandparents and competes internationally for Germany.[28]

Notable undrafted players

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These players were not selected in the 2003 NBA draft, but have played at least one game in the NBA.

Player Position Nationality School/club team
Earl Barron C  United States Memphis (Sr.)
Kevin Burleson PG  United States Minnesota (Sr.)
José Calderón PG  Spain Tau Cerámica (Spain)
Matt Carroll SG  United States Notre Dame (Sr.)
Marquis Daniels SG  United States Auburn (Sr.)
Ronald Dupree SF  United States LSU (Sr.)
Noel Felix PF  United States
 Belize
Fresno State (Sr.)
Hiram Fuller PF  United States
 Libya
Fresno State (Sr.)
Britton Johnsen SF/PF  United States Utah (Sr.)
Desmond Penigar PF  United States Utah State (Sr.)
Kirk Penney SG/SF  New Zealand Wisconsin (Sr.)
Josh Powell PF  United States NC State (So.)
Kasib Powell SF  United States Texas Tech (Sr.)
Quinton Ross SG  United States SMU (Sr.)
Melvin Sanders SG/SF  United States Oklahoma State (Sr.)
James Singleton SF/PF  United States Murray State (Sr.)
Theron Smith SF/PF  United States Ball State (Sr.)

Draft Lottery

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^ Denotes the actual lottery result
Team 2002–03
record
Lottery Lottery probabilities
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th
Cleveland Cavaliers 17–65 225 .225^ .215 .178 .357
Denver Nuggets 17–65 225 .225 .188 .171^ .319 .123
Toronto Raptors 24–58 157 .157 .157 .156 .226^ .265 .040
Miami Heat 25–57 120 .120 .126 .133 .099 .350^ .161 .013
Los Angeles Clippers 28–54 89 .089 .097 .107 .261 .360^ .084 .004
Memphis Grizzlies 28–54 64 .064 .071^ .081 .440 .304 .040 .001
Chicago Bulls 30–52 44 .044 .049 .058 .599^ .232 .018 .000
Atlanta Hawks 35–47 29 .029 .022 .027 .724^ .197 .011 .000
New York Knicks 37-45 15 .015 .022 .027 .784^ .143 .005 .000
Washington Wizards 37-45 14 .014 .021 .025 .846^ .087 .002 .000
Golden State Warriors 38–44 7 .007 .009 .012 .907^ .063 .001
Seattle SuperSonics 40–42 6 .006 .008 .010 .935^ .039
Houston Rockets 43–39 5 .005 .007 .009 .960^

Early entrants

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College underclassmen

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In terms of underclassmen declaring for this year's draft, the number of players available for entry this year would increase up to 73 after previously being down a bit the previous year. However, it would also see the most withdrawn entries from underclassmen either in college, overseas, or even high school in the case of Charlie Villanueva with 27 total people doing exactly that. As such, there would actually be 46 underclassmen that qualified as such for this year's draft, which would be an overall step down when compared to last year's official number of underclassmen entering the NBA draft. The following college basketball players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[29]

High school players

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This would be the ninth straight year in a row where at least one high school player would declare their entry into the NBA draft directly out of high school after previously only allowing it one time back in 1975. However, it would be one of the most famous ones due to the entry of high school phenom LeBron James entering the NBA draft this year, being the second high schooler to be drafted at #1 behind only Kwame Brown back in 2001, as well as being the second high schooler to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award behind Amar'e Stoudemire only a year prior. This draft also saw a high schooler named Charlie Villanueva initially enter for the NBA draft, but withdraw his name and go to college before the draft began. The following high school players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[29]

International players

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The following international players successfully applied for early draft entrance.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NBA Announces Early-Entry Candidates". NBA. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  2. ^ "Cavaliers Win NBA Draft Lottery 2003". NBA. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
  3. ^ "Carmelo Anthony wins third gold medal, says he's finished with Team USA". August 21, 2016. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "2003 draft eventually may be best in history". MSNBC. Archived from the original on January 26, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2007.
  5. ^ "Most anticipated No. 1 draft picks". CBC Sports. July 27, 2005. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2008.
  6. ^ The Grizzlies traded this pick to the Pistons for Otis Thorpe on August 7, 1997.
    Boeck, Greg (August 8, 1997). "Thorpe trade frees Pistons to chase Bulls' Williams". USA Today. p. 12C.
    Enlund, Tom (June 28, 2003). "Selections have Pistons popping; Sonics also do well on draft day". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 3C.
  7. ^ The Hawks traded this pick along with Toni Kukoč and Leon Smith to the Bucks for Glenn Robinson on August 2, 2002.
    Saladino, Tom (August 3, 2002). "Robinson traded by Milwaukee to Hawks for No. 1 pick and Kukoc". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  8. ^ The Rockets traded this pick along with Othella Harrington, Brent Price, Antoine Carr, and Michael Dickerson to the Grizzlies as part of a three-way deal in which the Rockets received draft rights to Steve Francis and Tony Massenburg from Grizzlies and Don MacLean and future first-round draft choice from Orlando Magic, and Magic received Michael Smith, Rodrick Rhodes, Lee Mayberry and Makhtar Ndiaye from Grizzlies on August 27, 1999.
    Murphy, Michael (August 27, 1999). "Rockets land Francis, 5 others; Grizzlies get 4 in largest deal in NBA history". The Houston Chronicle. p. 1.
  9. ^ a b c d The Grizzlies traded No. 13 and No. 27 picks to the Celtics for No. 16 and No. 20 picks on the draft day.
    Baird, Woody (June 27, 2003). "West wastes no time for draft-night trades". Associated Press.
  10. ^ The Bucks traded this pick along with Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, and Ronald Murray to the SuperSonics for Gary Payton and Desmond Mason on February 20, 2003.
    Ruiz, Don (February 21, 2003). "Goodbye, Glove: Sonics trade Payton; NBA deal: Fan favorite Mason also sent to Milwaukee Bucks". The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington). p. A01.
  11. ^ The 76ers traded this pick along with Roshown McLeod to the Celtics for Jérôme Moïso on August 3, 2001.
    Doyle, Bill (August 4, 2001). "Celts move forward in Sixers deal; Little-used Moiso swapped for McLeod, future first-round pick". Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts). p. B1.
  12. ^ The Pacers traded this pick to the Hawks for Jamaal Tinsley on June 27, 2001.
    Marot, Michael (June 28, 2001). "Pacers wait their turn, wind up with 2 guards". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  13. ^ The Kings traded this pick along with Tariq Abdul-Wahad to the Magic for Nick Anderson on August 3, 1999.
    "Magic trades Anderson for Kings' Abdul-Wahad". The Houston Chronicle. August 4, 1999. p. Sports 9.
    The Magic traded this pick along with Mike Miller and Ryan Humphrey to the Grizzlies for Drew Gooden and Gordan Giricek on February 19, 2003.
    Scanlon, Dick (March 7, 2003). "Trade Pays Off Quickly". The Ledger. p. C1.
  14. ^ The Spurs traded this pick to the Suns for a future pick (#30 pick in 2005 NBA draft) on June 26, 2003.
    Badger, T.A. (June 26, 2003). "Spurs select and then trade Brazilian point guard". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  15. ^ The Nuggets traded this pick along with Antonio McDyess and the draft rights to Frank Williams to the Knicks for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and the draft rights to Maybyner "Nenê" Hilario on June 26, 2002.
    "Knicks blockbuster may be the tip of iceberg". ESPN. June 26, 2002. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  16. ^ a b The Raptors traded No. 32 pick along with Tracy Murray and Kareem Rush to the Lakers for the No. 52 pick, Lindsey Hunter, and Chris Jefferies on June 26, 2002.
    Harris, Beth (June 27, 2002). "Lakers trade Hunter, first-round pick to Toronto for Murray". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  17. ^ The Grizzlies traded this pick to the Bucks for Chris Owens on June 26, 2002.
    Finger, Mike (June 27, 2002). "Owens off to Memphis ; Injury didn't scare off teams". San Antonio Express-News.
  18. ^ a b The 76ers traded No. 41 pick to the SuperSonics for the No. 50 pick and cash during the draft.
    "Green has thumb surgery". ESPN. Associated Press. December 5, 2003. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  19. ^ The Bucks traded this pick to the Magic for cash considerations on the draft day.
    Mulhern, Tom (June 27, 2003). "Short, to the Point; Bucks Choose Texas' Ford". Wisconsin State Journal.
  20. ^ The Suns traded this pick along with Soumaila Samake to the Bulls for C Jake Voskuhl on October 29, 2001.
    "Bulls trade Voskuhl to Suns for draft pick". The Associated Press State & Local Wire. October 29, 2001.
  21. ^ The Bulls traded this pick to the Raptors for a future pick (#38 pick in 2004 NBA draft) on the draft day.
    Gray, Kevin (June 27, 2003). "Toronto trades for Bonner". The Union Leader.
  22. ^ The Celtics traded this pick along with Shammond Williams to the Nuggets for Mark Blount and Mark Bryant on February 20, 2003.
    "Celtics add bulk with additions of Blount, Bryant". ESPN. Associated Press. February 20, 2003. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  23. ^ The Nets traded this pick to the 76ers for cash considerations on the draft day.
    "Korver drafted by Nets, traded to Philadelphia". The Associated Press State & Local Wire. June 27, 2003.
  24. ^ The Pistons traded this pick along with Cedric Ceballos to the Heat for a second-round draft pick (#38 pick in 2002 NBA draft) on November 26, 2000.
    The Heat traded this pick to the Bulls for Sean Lampley on October 2, 2001.
    "Heat acquire F Lampley from Chicago". The Associated Press State & Local Wire. October 2, 2001.
  25. ^ The Kings traded this pick along with a future pick (#53 pick in 2005 NBA draft) to the Celtics for Darius Songaila on June 23, 2003.
    "Celtics Acquire Second round Draft Choice From Sacramento Kings For Rights To Songaila". NBA. June 23, 2003. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
  26. ^ The Mavericks traded this pick to the Nuggets for a future pick (#50 pick in 2004 NBA draft) on the draft day.
    "Xue Yuyang Joins Denver After Dallas Draft". China Internet Information Center. June 28, 2003. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
  27. ^ The Spurs traded this pick to the Pistons for Mengke Bateer on October 3, 2002.
    "Pistons trade Menks to Spurs". The Associated Press State & Local Wire. October 3, 2002.
  28. ^ Clippers' Kaman becomes German citizen for Olympics Archived June 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Los Angeles Times. July 3, 2008.
  29. ^ a b c "2003 Underclassmen". The Draft Review. August 4, 2007. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
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