I was flipping through my "NBA at 50" book the other day, and I noticed that John Stockton is considered to be among the 50 greatest players of all time. I certainly have no quarrel with that, given that Stockton is the league's all-time leader in assists and steals.

But then I got to thinking about all the great battles I have seen between Stockton and Seattle's Gary Payton -- who face each other for the 48th time in the regular season tonight -- and it dawned on me that, hey, you know what, Payton should probably be considered among the 50 greatest of all-time, as well.

	Gary Payton, left, measures up to John Stockton when it comes to all-time greatness.

Now, believe me, Gary Payton and I agree on very little about anything, but when I posed the same question to him, he actually agreed with my assessment -- self-serving as it may have been for him to do. Only, he threw in a caveat.

"They are going to have to come up with a new list," Payton said. "There are too many guys right now, the Kobe Bryants, the McGradys, that are in that category. I probably would be, I probably would. Jason Kidd's got to be in there too, all these guys. They are going to come with another list, a top 100 or something, and if I get picked in there, so be it."

I realize that when the 50 greatest were picked, in 1996, Payton at the time did not have the longevity of excellence that Stockton, seven years his senior, did. But now that Payton has been in the league more than 12 seasons, and his statistics and achievements measure favorably with Stockton, there is little doubt the Glove fits.

Through 12 seasons, Payton has scored 17,123 points, had 6,927 assists, 3,992 rebounds and 2,014 steals. Stockton's numbers are inflated because he has played so much longer than Payton, but an analysis of Stockton's numbers through his first 12 seasons reveals that the players are very similar, and in some cases Payton is better.

In 12 years, Stockton had 13,285 points, 11,310 assists, 2,365 steals and 2,605 rebounds. Not only that, Stockton had Karl Malone and their pick-and-roll for all but one year -- the first -- of his illustrious career. Imagine if Payton had Shawn Kemp -- the old Shawn Kemp -- for his entire career.

Both players' durability borders on incredible. In 19 seasons, Stockton has missed 22 games, and 18 of those games came in the 1997-98 season. He has played in every game for 17 of his 19 seasons. Payton has missed just four games, and two of those were due to suspension rather than injury.

Stockton, along with Malone, took the Jazz to the NBA Finals twice, both times losing Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. Payton, along with Kemp, took the Sonics to the NBA Finals once, losing to Jordan's Chicago Bulls before the Sonics blew up the organization.

Both players have gold medals from the Olympics, Stockton with the original Dream Team in 1992, Payton in 1996 and 2000. Stockton has been named to 10 All-Star teams and five all-defense teams; Payton has eight All-Star appearances and is one of only two players in the history of the league (Jordan is the other) to be named to nine straight all-defensive teams.

	Gary Payton's relationship with Sonics management is at an all-time low.

So I asked Payton if he is, in fact, happy with his career.

"I think if you ask any young guy if they would want a career like Gary Payton, they would tell you yes," Payton said. "I've done did a lot of things in the NBA, made a lot of stuff, so I'm happy with what I've done.

"There's only one thing in my career that I haven't done and that's win a championship, so, hey, I can't ask for nothing else. I wouldn't want to rewrite no script."

But Payton also says he is not, well, philosophical about his place in the history of the game.

"I'm not going to sit here and dwell on whether or not I am going to the Hall of Fame," Payton said. "I am not going to do that. I am not going to sit here and say, 'If I play four more years, am I going to get nominated to the Hall of Fame?' No. I am not going to do that.

"I am going to go on with my life, and if they call me and say 'Yo, you are going to be in the Hall of Fame or you are going to be in this,' then I am going to say, 'So be it.' If I make it, I will go to the ceremony, and I'll have fun."

However (and you knew there was going to be a "however"), there is one difference between Stockton and Payton, and it seems like it is going to be a significant difference.

While Stockton will finish his career in a Jazz uniform, it seems increasingly unlikely that Payton will end his career with the Sonics. The beginning of the end came when Payton unwisely chose to pick an ugly public battle with Sonics owner Howard Schultz, calling Schultz, in effect, a liar when Payton claimed Schultz told him he could have a contract extension.

What Payton did not account for was that he was no longer dealing with the spineless Barry Ackerley, but had taken on a formidable foe who not only has an equally competitive spirit but also holds, to a degree, the leverage to Payton's future. And now, with the Sonics reeling, losing 18 of their last 26 games and on course to have their string of 15 consecutive .500-or-better seasons broken -- Utah, appropriately, is first with 17 straight non-losing seasons, and Seattle is second -- Sonics management no longer is so enamored with Payton.

	The feeling, it seems, is that this team has gone about as far as it can go with Payton, and if it can lose with the mercurial point guard, it certainly can lose without him just as easily.

The feeling, it seems, is that this team has gone about as far as it can go with Payton, and if it can lose with the mercurial point guard, it certainly can lose without him just as easily.

In the face of missing the playoffs, the Sonics stated this week that their focus is on developing Rashard Lewis, Desmond Mason and Vladimir Radmanovic, with winning a secondary option that will come, they hope, three years from now.

What that also means is that the Sonics do not necessarily want those players using Payton as a crutch any more. He dominates the ball and the locker room, and while Stockton was willing to step aside to let others develop their games, the Sonics feel Payton is not capable of doing that.

To defend Payton, he is in a precarious spot. He has tried to give the ball to other players, and they have not responded, which means he tries to win the games by himself, which means he looks selfish, which means the young players then resent him. It is a vicious cycle, to be sure, but the situation in Seattle has gotten to the point where if losing is going to be accepted, it might as well happen while young players get their lumps from experience rather than from their own leader. The unfortunate part is that the greatest player in the franchise's history, and one of the greatest players of all time, is going to leave on rather onerous terms.

Let's just hope Payton has the same attitude about his own jersey retirement as he has about attending the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Frank Hughes, who covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.