© Brett Hansbauer- USA TODAY Sports
Kenyon Martin Believes the Spurs got Lucky Against the Nets in the 2003 NBA Finals
As the number one pick of the 2000 NBA Draft, Kenyon Martin came into the league with massive hype. He became a solid member of the New Jersey Nets early in his career forming a fantastic partnership with then-point guard, Jason Kidd.
Their dynamic helped the Nets reach the Finals twice, the second time against the San Antonio Spurs in 2003. The Spurs won the series in six games with Tim Duncan being named the Finals MVP. Despite them winning, Martin believes San Antonio got lucky in the series.
“They a** got lucky. We split the first two games on they floor. If we go home and get two, because it was a two-three-two series then, but they got two on our home floor,” Martin said on All The Smoke. “But Tim Duncan was a problem. Some of the numbers he put up in that series… He did his thing.”
Duncan was amazing in the Finals
During the 2002/03 season, the Spurs finished the regular season with the best record in the league at 60 wins and 22 losses. Duncan was amazing during that year and he was crowned the regular season MVP.
The star big man did not hold back one bit in the Finals where he averaged 24.2 points, 17 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Kenyon was often seen as the primary matchup for Duncan at the time, but he was overwhelmed by the latter’s power and skill.
Martin’s struggles were not exclusive to his defense because Duncan also defended him well, forcing him to shoot 3/23 from the field in the final game of the series. That was one of the worst shooting splits in NBA Finals history, and it was proof of how Duncan can affect the game on both sides.
On the same episode of All The Smoke, Martin discussed the significant impact playing against Duncan had on his development as a player, evident in his subsequent achievement of his first and only All-Star nod in the 2003/04 season.
“I figured out how to guard people because of having to guard him. He never shot that bank shot on me, ever. Shoutout to him, he made me better. Tim Duncan made me better,” Martin said.
The Spurs earned their title
While the jury is out on Martin’s claim of the Spurs getting lucky, there was no denying that the Spurs deserved their championship. This was their first title since 1999 and the swan song to their twin towers of Duncan and David Robinson.
It was another start to the era of the Spurs where they would win two more times in the next four years. With coach Gregg Popovich leading the way, the Spurs were a consistently-successful team and they earned every title.
The 2003 Nets team, as highlighted by Martin, boasted a stellar lineup featuring him, Kidd, Kerry Kittles, and Richard Jefferson at the forefront. Despite their excellence, they were overshadowed by the San Antonio team, which had a surplus of skilled players including Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili, among others.
