2002–03 Los Angeles Clippers season

The 2002–03 Los Angeles Clippers season was the 33rd season for the Los Angeles Clippers in the National Basketball Association, and their 19th season in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers received the eighth overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft from the Atlanta Hawks via trade, and selected power forward Chris Wilcox from the University of Maryland, and also selected center Melvin Ely out of Fresno State University with the twelfth overall pick. During the off-season, the team acquired Andre Miller from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and signed free agents, former Clippers forward Cherokee Parks and Wang Zhizhi. Rookie shooting guard Marko Jaric, who was drafted by the Clippers as the 30th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, made his debut in the NBA this season.

After a 12–16 start to the regular season, the Clippers posted a six-game losing streak between December and January, and later on held a 17–32 record at the All-Star break. Head coach Alvin Gentry was fired after a 19–39 start to the season, and was replaced with former All-Star guard, and retired Boston Celtics legend Dennis Johnson. The Clippers posted an 8-game losing streak between February and March, but won their final three games of the season, finishing in last place in the Pacific Division with a 27–55 record, and missing the NBA playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.

Elton Brand averaged 18.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, while Corey Maggette averaged 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, and Lamar Odom provided the team with 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, but only played just 49 games due to injury. In addition, Miller contributed 13.6 points and 6.7 assists per game, while Michael Olowokandi provided with 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, but only appeared in just 36 games also due to injury, and Eric Piatkowski contributed 9.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Quentin Richardson averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, Jaric provided with 7.4 points and 2.9 assists per game, Keyon Dooling contributed 6.4 points per game, Parks averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, but only appeared in just 30 games, Ely provided with 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, and Sean Rooks contributed 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, Jaric was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team. Maggette finished in tenth place in Most Improved Player voting. The Clippers finished 14th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 706,471 at the Staples Center during the regular season.

Following the season, Odom signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat after four seasons with the Clippers, while Miller signed with the Denver Nuggets after only one season with the team, Olowokandi signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Piatkowski signed with the Houston Rockets, and Johnson was fired as head coach. For the season, the Clippers added new blue alternate road uniforms, with white side panels to their jerseys and shorts; these uniforms would remain in use until 2010.