Game of the Week: Nets vs. Spurs 6/15/03

Ten years ago tomorrow...

The Spurs were in the Finals, Jason Kidd was the floor general for the Nets, and ESPN/ABC was wrapping up its first season airing the NBA and the lowest-rated Finals ever (though that would be topped four years later).

Nowadays, the Spurs are in the Finals, Jason Kidd has become the bench general for the Nets, and ESPN/ABC is still airing NBA games, though the ratings and coverage seem to have gotten better. Funny how some things change and others stay the same after a decade......

Today's video brings up Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals between the New Jersey Nets and the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs lead the series 3 games to 2 after a 93-83 victory in East Rutherford two days prior. San Antonio manages to close out Jersey in the game 88-77, winning their second ever NBA title. The Boxscore can be found HERE.

For San Antonio, a then-young Tim Duncan messed around and almost got a quadruple-double. However, the Finals MVP had to "settle" for a triple-double, netting 21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 8 blocks. In what was his final NBA game, teammate and twin tower David Robinson put in 13 points and 17 rebounds. Stephen Jackson had 17 points.

For New Jersey, Jason Kidd lead the team (of course he did) with 21 points and 7 assists. Kerry Kittles was behind him with 16 points, while a then-spry-and-athletic Richard Jefferson added 13. 

The 2003 Finals would wrap up ESPN/ABC's first season airing NBA games (and ABC's first since 1972-73), taking the reins over from NBC. The 2003 NBA Finals would set a record low in ratings, with a 6.5 average rating share for the series. It was the first single-digit rating share since the 1981 Finals between the Rockets and Celtics (6.7). As bad as that was, the record would be bested (or worsted?) by the 2007 Finals between the Spurs and LeBron's Cavaliers (6.2). You could look at a myriad of reasons for the series' low ratings: bad play (the Nets' offense was deplorable), lack of star power, too much going on in the coverage department (such as having Joel Siegel on the halftime show reviewing summer movies). But since this series, the NBA on ESPN/ABC has seen better days.

Footage is from ABC with Brad Nessler, Bill Walton, and Tom Tolbert on the call; Michelle Tafoya and Stuart Scott on the sidelines.