SEATTLE (AP) The Glove is coming back to Seattle.

Gary Payton, wearing the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers, returns Friday night for the first time since the blockbuster trade last February that shipped him out after more than 12 seasons with the SuperSonics.

``It's no big thing,'' Payton said. ``I don't care. We're going to go back to Seattle and I'm just going to play.''

Payton was one of the best players to suit up for the Sonics, providing leadership and tenacious defense for more than 12 seasons. He helped the team reach the 1996 NBA Finals, where Seattle lost to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

``Any time a player is traded and they come back, it's always a strange feeling,'' said Sonics coach and former teammate Nate McMillan. ``It's even more different when it's a player like Gary, who holds all the records for the Sonics.''

Payton remains Seattle's career leader in scoring (18,207 points), assists (7,384), steals (2,107), games played (999), personal fouls (2,577), minutes (36,858), triple-doubles (16), field goals made (7,292) and 3-pointers (917).

He was traded along with Desmond Mason to Milwaukee at last season's trading deadline in exchange for another All-Star, Ray Allen, plus Ronald Murray and Kevin Ollie. Payton joined the Lakers as a free agent last summer.

Allen, who played with Payton on the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, is looking forward to his return.

``It will be a great experience for a lot of fans,'' Allen said. ``He's been an icon in this city for a long time. The fact that he doesn't play here anymore doesn't change anything.''

McMillan expects the night to be ``weird for everybody involved.''

``That was a major move last year the club made,'' he said. ``Gary was a very important part of this organization and the community.''

It once seemed Payton would end his career with Seattle, but trouble was apparent after the star skipped media day before the 2002-03 season and team chairman Howard Schultz blasted him for missing what he called ``the first day of work.''

Payton, who turned 35 last summer, was seeking a multiyear contract worth his then-salary of almost $13 million a year. Schultz, meanwhile, questioned whether Payton would be as effective a player later in his career.

They rarely spoke last season, and a trade seemed inevitable because the Sonics weren't willing to let such a marketable player walk away without compensation when the season ended.

``It wasn't really a surprise,'' Payton said. ``I just didn't know where I was going. They weren't going to send me to the West because they didn't want to play against me, but then it happened in the summer.

``I knew they were going to have to play against me. I knew I was coming back to the West, just to play against them,'' he said.

So far this season, Payton ranks among the NBA leaders in assists (6.6) and steals (1.57). He's been a bargain, too, earning $4.9 million.

Payton still looks fondly on his time in Seattle, saying he had a solid relationship with the fans. And he's happy to be part of a star-studded Lakers lineup that includes Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone.

``I mean, shoot, I'm winning,'' Payton said. ``I don't have to do as much. I don't have to pound my body. I'm having fun, playing the way I want to play. It's been a joyful thing.''

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AP Sports Writer John Nadel in Los Angeles contributed to this report.