The Hornets relocate from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans, Louisiana. At the time, the New Orleans Hornets were a continuation of the Charlotte Hornets franchise, but this was changed in 2014 after the second incarnation of the Hornets (originally the Charlotte Bobcats starting in 2004) purchased the records and history of the Hornets franchise from 1988 to 2002. As such, this was the first of two seasons in which the Charlotte NBA franchise "suspended operations" while the New Orleans NBA franchise was retconned as an expansion team.
At halftime of the Hornets' first game in New Orleans, the team retired Pete Maravich's jersey number against their former tenants, the Utah Jazz. Though Maravich never played for the Hornets, he had been a star player with LSU Tigers and New Orleans Jazz.
The 2003 NBA All-Star Game was held at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. The West won 155–145 in double-overtime, the longest All-Star game in NBA history. Minnesota's Kevin Garnett took the game's MVP honors. It was also the last time an Eastern Conference city hosted an All-Star Game (until 2012), and the last time a rookie played (until 2011) and started an All-Star game, with Yao Ming making his All-Star debut.
Michael Jordan announces his third and final retirement. He plays his last game on April 16, 2003, in Philadelphia.
The NBA on ABC begins (replacing NBA on NBC) again after a 29-year hiatus when the NBA signs new television deals with TNT and the consortium of ABC and ESPN. This agreement significantly decreased the number of games on network television, including the playoffs, in which very few games are shown on ABC, with the exception of the NBA Finals, which are shown entirely on ABC. Also, both conference finals are shown live on cable for the first time.
The NBA changes the first-round format from a best-of-five-game series to a best-of-seven-game series for the 2003 NBA playoffs.
A new low in television ratings for the NBA Finals is reached, replacing the 1981 series as the least-watched Finals (later surpassed by the 2007 Finals).
The Los Angeles Lakers debuted their white and gold alternate home jerseys in a loss against the Sacramento Kings on Christmas Day, December 25, 2002, at Staples Center. The jerseys were designed as a tribute to long-time announcer Chick Hearn, who died on August 5 from a head injury caused by a fall. The Lakers also sport a black patch in his honor.
David Robinson announced his retirement. He would eventually go on to win the championship with the Spurs.
The elimination of Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs marks the end of the 18-year Karl Malone–John Stockton tandem. Stockton would go on to retire, while Malone would play with the Lakers next season before retiring in 2004.
The NBA has mandated installation of LED light strips on both the backboard and the scorer's table that illuminate when time expires, to assist with any potential review.
The Spurs and the Mavericks tied for the best record at 60–22. The Spurs won a tie–breaker for the best record due to better Conference records.
The NBA introduces the Hardwood Classic nights for team and player milestones, team anniversary, and championship team anniversary which included the (Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Seattle SuperSonics, Washington Wizards, and other teams). In Game 5 of the 2003 Finals series, the Nets wore a throwback jersey from the 1976 team that marked the only time in NBA Finals history wear a throwback jersey.
Golden State Warriors – slightly changed their uniforms added orange on the side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Los Angeles Clippers – added new blue road alternate uniforms with white side panels to their jerseys and shorts.
Los Angeles Lakers – added new white home alternate uniforms with gold side panels to their jerseys and shorts played on Sunday nights and Christmas Day games only.
Portland Trail Blazers – added new logo and new uniforms, slightly changed their uniforms and also added new red road alternate uniforms.
New Orleans Hornets – relocation from Charlotte, North Carolina to New Orleans, Louisiana, added new logo and new uniforms, adding yellow to their color scheme of teal, purple, and dark navy blue.
New York Knicks – slightly changed their uniforms, added "NYK" subway token on the alternate logo on the back of their jersey.
Sacramento Kings – changed their uniforms added side panels to their jerseys and shorts while the road jersey changed from black to purple with black side panels and "Sacramento" script wordmark on their jersey and white home jerseys with purple side panels and "Kings" script wordmark on their jersey.
San Antonio Spurs – added new logo and new uniforms, replacing the fiesta colors of turquoise, fuchsia and orange with black, and silver to their color scheme, slightly changed their uniforms, and moved into their new arena the SBC Center, (now as Frost Bank Center).
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.
