The Pistons started the season strong with a 12-5 record through the first 17 games of the season. Nine of the first 17 games took place on the road and Detroit finished at 5-4, a game above .500. By mid-November, they already completed their season series with Utah, by sweeping the Jazz for the first time since 1988-89. The Pistons rolled over Denver in each of their meetings, holding the Nuggets to an unbelievable average of 58.0 points per game. Opponents averaged just 83.3 points during the first full month of the season and were held to under 80 points eight times and under 70 points three times. The Dallas Mavericks handed the Pistons two of their worst losses of the season, a 114-75 defeat at Dallas on November 9 and 102-82 at The Palace on November 27. Chauncey Billups missed the last six games in November due to a sprained right ankle he suffered in Detroit’s 94-91 loss at New York on November 18. Billups also served a one-game suspension after intentionally throwing the basketball at a game official in the third period of the Pistons' 114-75 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on November 9. In a 79-68 Pistons victory over Miami at The Palace, Ben Wallace recorded his second career triple-double with 12 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high-tying 10 blocks. Jon Barry enjoyed his best month, averaging 8.1 points (.483 FG, .450 3FG. 824 FT) with 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 19.9 minutes.
Detroit lost its first two games in December, but then went on a six-game winning streak, their longest of the season. The Pistons went 8-5 in December and played on Christmas Day for the first time since 1996-97, losing 104-99 at Orlando. Zeljko Rebraca helped the Pistons defeat the New Jersey Nets 101-91 with 21 points in 20 minutes off the bench in the teams’ first meeting on December 15, but left the game early the next time the two teams met on December 21 in New Jersey. Rebraca was treated for an irregular heartbeat and missed the next 50 games due to his condition. The Pistons enjoyed their best shooting performance from three-point range during the month of December, shooting 39.6% (95-240 3FG), and went three straight games (12/18-12/21) shooting at least 50.0% from beyond the arc.
The Pistons won 10 of their 15 games in January and in the month’s first six games, Detroit won five of six and four consecutive road games. Detroit snapped a nine-game losing streak at Houston with a 98-74 victory over the Rockets on January 24. Detroit handed Boston its worst defeat in Celtics history and recorded its largest margin of victory in franchise history with a 118-66 win at Boston on January 31. The 118 points were the most by Detroit in 2002-03. Clifford Robinson had his best month of the season, scoring as he averaged 15.5 points in 15 games. Robinson scored at least 20 points on four different occasions during January and recorded his first double-double of the season with a season-high 25 points and 11 rebounds in Detroit’s 82-74 win vs. Toronto on January 6. It was a breakthrough month for rookie Mehmet Okur as his scoring production rose due to his increased playing time. Okur averaged 7.1 points in 20.4 minutes compared to his 3.8 points and 10.6 minutes per game in the first two months.
Richard Hamilton scored a season-high 34 points in Detroit’s 93-62 victory vs. Miami on February 17 and two nights later, was held to a season-low four points in Detroit’s 89-84 win at Toronto (2/19). It was a Detroit victory though and the Pistons continued to sizzle through the first couple weeks in February. Hamilton shot 48.3% (102-211 FG) from the field, 40.0% (8-20 3FG) from three-point range and 88.1% (59-67 FT) from the free throw line during 13 games in February. Chauncey Billups was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week ending February 2 after averaging 22.3 points, 3.3 assists and shooting 44.4% from three-point range. Billups had a seven-game stretch in mid-February (2/11-2/21), where he made 40 consecutive free throws. Ben Wallace was selected the starting center for the 2003 Eastern Conference All-Star Team. This was Wallace's first-ever All-Star appearance. Detroit won seven of the first eight games in February, but lost the last five games of the month. The five losses were part of a seven-game losing streak, the Pistons longest of the season, that ended in early March. Detroit signed 14-year veteran Danny Manning on February 5.
Detroit returned from an abysmal 0-5 West Coast trip to play 10 of the next 14 games at The Palace. The Pistons had two big wins at The Palace that ended losing streaks vs. the West’s two powerhouses. On March 12, Detroit defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 111-88, ending an eight-game overall losing streak and a nine-game losing streak at The Palace. Mehmet Okur was huge in the win, scoring a career-high 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. Okur averaged a season-best 9.6 points on .490 shooting and .406 from three-point range throughout the month. To close out the month of March, the Pistons ended a seven-game losing streak vs. Sacramento with a 99-88 victory. Chauncey Billups tallied a season-high 33 points twice throughout the month, first in the Pistons’ 92-90 loss at Golden State (3/1) and then more importantly, in Detroit’s victory vs. the Lakers 11 days later. Billups’ month of March stood out from any other month, as he averaged 23.4 points on .464 shooting and .429 shooting from three-point range. Billups also netted two game winning triples - first on March 9th to beat the Golden State Warriors 107-105, and next on March 26th to beat the Atlanta Hawks 102-99. He became the first Piston since Jerry Stackhouse to score 30-plus points in consecutive games [31 vs. Golden State (3/9) and 33 vs. L.A. Lakers (3/12)]. Ben Wallace was named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, March 17 through Sunday, March 23. Chucky Atkins missed most of the month with a bone bruise in his left knee. He played in just two games during the month of March.
What Detroit never wants to happen, happened in Detroit’s 89-83 loss vs. San Antonio on April 6. Pistons all-star center Ben Wallace sprained his left medial collateral ligament in the first half and would not return to the game. Wallace missed the final six games of the season due to the injury, but would return in time to play in Game One of the NBA Playoffs. Mehmet Okur started in place of Wallace and averaged a very respectable 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in 36.0 minutes. Detroit won three of the last six games and held on to the top spot in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1990. Detroit clinched its second consecutive Central Division title and set an NBA record for most wins in overtime without a loss (8) with a 110-107 double-overtime victory at Memphis on April 13. In the season finale at Boston, Clifford Robinson was placed on the injured list for the first time in his career, due to left knee patella tendinitis. Danny Manning played in a season high 31 minutes and scored a season-high 18 points, and Don Reid returned to the lineup after missing the entire season due to a ruptured left Achilles tendon. Wallace was named the 2002-03 Defensive Player of the Year, marking the second consecutive season he has earned the award. Wallace also led the voting for the 2002-03 NBA All-Defensive Team and was named to the All-NBA Second Team. Sporting News, the nation’s oldest sports publication, announced Detroit Pistons general manger Joe Dumars as the Sporting News NBA Executive of the Year Award.
The Pistons returned to the playoffs for the second consecutive season and made a little history in the process. Detroit trailed Orlando in the first round best-of-seven series and became only the seventh team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit. Detroit advanced to the second round for the second straight year and defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in six games despite all of Allen Iverson's best efforts. In the franchise's sixth appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced a red-hot New Jersey Nets team led by Jason Kidd. The Pistons were swept by New Jersey, but there was a bright spot during the series as Detroit received the second overall pick in the NBA Draft Lottery. Richard Hamilton averaged 22.5 points and scored at least 20 points in 15-of-17 playoff games. Chauncey Billups missed three games during the playoffs due to a sprained left ankle he suffered in Detroit’s Game One win vs. Philadelphia. NBA Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA Second Team member Ben Wallace averaged 8.9 points, 16.3 rebounds, 2.47 steals and 3.06 blocks during the playoffs.
