2002–03 Toronto Raptors season

The 2002–03 NBA season was the Raptors' eighth season in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Raptors acquired Lamond Murray from the Cleveland Cavaliers, but missed the entire season with a foot injury. Things looked bleak for the Raptors early in the season as Hakeem Olajuwon announced his retirement due to a back injury. The Raptors played around .500 with a 4–4 start to the season, but then lost six straight afterwards. The team then suffered a 12-game losing streak between December and January. In addition, Vince Carter continued to feel the lingering effect of his knee injury as he missed most of the first half of the season. Despite playing only 43 games, he was still voted to play in his fourth straight All-Star Game. However, Carter ended up giving the starting position to a retiring Michael Jordan. Despite this, the Raptors lost their final eight games of the season finishing seventh in the Central Division with a dismal 24–58 record. Following the season, Lenny Wilkens was let go as head coach of the Raptors, and was replaced with Kevin O'Neill.