[7][8] The Sixers improved on their last season posting a nine-game winning streak at midseason, finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a 48–34 record, with the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference.
[9] For the first time in his career, Allen Iverson played a full 82-game season, averaging 27.6 points, 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game (he would have another in 2007–08 while with the Denver Nuggets).
He was named to the All-NBA Second Team, was selected for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game,[10] and also finished in sixth place in Most Valuable Player voting.
[20][21] This season was head coach Larry Brown's last in Philadelphia as he resigned on Memorial Day, 2003.
[22][23][24] Brown would later go on to coach the Detroit Pistons,[25] where he helped the team win the 2004 NBA Championship.
On August 6, the Sixers traded Dikembe Mutombo to the New Jersey Nets for Todd MacCulloch and Keith Van Horn.