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, and they did.[2][3] 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.
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).
^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.[29]
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 However, it would also see the most withdrawn entries from underclassmen either in college, overseas, or even high school in the case of Charlie Villanueva with 27 total people doing exactly that.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.[30]
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.[30]
^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.
^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.
^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.
^ abcdThe 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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^ abThe 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.
^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.
^ abThe 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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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.
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