The 2002–03 NBA season was the SuperSonics' 36th season in the National Basketball Association. During the offseason, the Sonics acquired Kenny Anderson and Vitaly Potapenko from the Boston Celtics. The Sonics got off to a solid start winning eight of their first ten games, but then lost six of their next seven games, then posted six-game losing streaks in January and February. At midseason, before the trading deadline, the team traded All-Star point guard Gary Payton and Desmond Mason to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen. More changes continued as Anderson was traded to the New Orleans Hornets for Elden Campbell. The Sonics, now led by the newly acquired Allen, finished the season fifth in the Pacific Division with a 40–42 record, missing the playoffs. Payton also represented the Western Conference for the final time in the 2003 NBA All-Star Game. Following the season, Campbell signed as a free agent with the Detroit Pistons.