The series was broadcast on U.S. television on ABC, with Brad Nessler, Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert announcing.

The NBA Finals also marked the end of Steve Kerr's career as well—he was on the Spurs, having already won three titles with the Chicago Bulls.

[2] The second round put the Spurs face-to-face with the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.

In the meantime the New Jersey Nets, who lost to the Lakers in the finals the previous year, were out to prove that they were serious title contenders, despite the lack of competition in the Eastern Conference.

The Nets finished the regular season 49–33, good enough to win the Atlantic Division and clinch the number 2 seed in the East.

From then on, the Nets had no trouble making a return to the NBA Finals, sweeping the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons to win their second straight Eastern Conference championship.

Starting with the 2004 NBA Finals, all games were played on Thursday–Sunday–Tuesday format until 2016, when it was changed to allow for two days off each time teams traveled.

The Spurs did have a star in Tim Duncan, but at the time he was criticized as being boring compared to flashier players such as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

Nets point guard Jason Kidd, second to Duncan in MVP voting during the 2003 season, was in the last year of his contract with the team, leading to speculation that the Spurs, a team that could afford to sign him, would pursue him in the free agency following the 2003 Finals despite already having future All-Star Tony Parker on the roster.

He joined the list of Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O'Neal.

Jason Kidd remained with the Nets until he was traded in February 2008 to the team he was originally drafted to, the Dallas Mavericks.

Despite the departures of Robinson, Jackson and Kerr, the Spurs still managed to win 57 games, aided by Tim Duncan's strong play.

This was also the only year that ABC broadcast both the NBA and the Stanley Cup Finals that involved teams playing in the same arena during each series.

[6][7] Gary Thorne, ESPN/ABC's lead NHL voice, mentioned this the following night and thanked Nessler for promoting ABC's broadcast of game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Michaels was later joined by recently deposed Orlando Magic coach Doc Rivers on ABC's lead team.