This Day in Basketball History
2003 - Milwaukee Bucks trade Ray Allen to the Seattle SuperSonics for Gary Payton
It's the NBA trade deadline (click here to access our NBA Trade Deadline Tracker), and because the deadline occurs around the same time every season, this day in basketball history is, not surprisingly, highlighted by a major deal.
Back in 2003, the Sonics didn't want to risk losing The Glove for nothing as a free agent, opting instead to package him with Desmond Mason for Ray Allen, Ronald Murray, Kevin Ollie and a first-round pick that would become Luke Ridnour. That's a pretty good haul, and Allen would remain the face of the franchise until being dealt to the Boston Celtics in 2007.
While Payton would leave the Bucks for the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, Allen would average 24.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists over five seasons with Seattle, though the team made just a single playoff appearance in that time.
1996 - John Stockton becomes all-time steals leader
Stockton's career record for steals seems like one of the NBA's most untouchable. The Utah Jazz point guard retired with 3,265, 581 more than the next highest player. That's 22 percent more steals than any other player in history, which is patently ridiculous.
Of course, he didn't always hold the record. While he now ranks fifth, Maurice Cheeks once held the honor with 2,310 steals, a mark Stockton passed on this day in 1996 against the Boston Celtics.
2002 - Celtics give up on seven-time All-Star Joe Johnson a little too early
Joe Johnson was the 10th overall pick in 2001, but he played just 48 games with the team that drafted him before Boston deemed him an expendable asset. Johnson was packaged with Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a first-round pick that would eventually become Casey Jacobsen so that the C's could acquire Tony Delk and Rodney Rogers from the Phoenix Suns.
Yes, 50-point game Tony Delk, who would play just 89 games with Boston, averaging 9.2 points, and Rodney Rogers, who played just 27 games, averaging 10.7 points.
Johnson, meanwhile, would flourish in Phoenix before being sign-and-traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2005, at which point he became the seven-time All-Star we all know and love today.
Birthdays
1963 - Charles Barkley
1977 - Stephon Marbury
1987 - James Johnson