On February 6, 1986, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, just two months shy of his 39th birthday, torched the Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon for 46 points leading the Lakers to an easy 117-95 victory. Rockets coach Bill Fitch decision to let the second year all-star Olajuwon defend Kareem one on one backfired as he schooled Dream with a dazzling array of short, medium, and deep sky hooks. Kareem, who also had 11 rebounds and 4 assists, was gracious postgame when asked about Olajuwon’s defense, “he gambled a lot which didn’t work, but I know he can play a whole lot better”.

Houston, with the dynamic twin towers of Ralph Sampson and Olajuwon, entered the game with a dominating 24-1 record at home and was looking to make a statement vs. the defending champs. But the only made was that even at nearly 39 years old, The Captain still had a few more lessons to teach.

On this day in 2008 the Lakers got Pau and a 2nd round pick from Memphis in exchange for his brother Marc, Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and two first round draft choices. The Laker were playing good ball at the time (30-16) but wasn’t a real threat. Getting Pau instantly made them title contenders. They went 27-9 the rest of the way. They smoked the defending champs Spurs 4-1 in the WC finals before losing to the hated Celtics in 6 games in the NBA Finals.

And who can forget Pop’s response….Spurs coach Gregg Popovich openly panned the move. “What they did in Memphis is beyond comprehension,” Popovich said at the time. “There should be a trade committee that can scratch all trades that make no sense. I just wish I had been on a trade committee that oversees NBA trades.”

History would prove Pop very wrong! The trade was great for Memphis. It freed up cash to sign Zach Randolph. Z-Bo and Marc Gasol would team up to lead Memphis in their “Grit and Grind” era to 7 consecutive playoff appearances including a trip to the WC finals. Constrast that with the Pau era where they made the playoffs 3 straight years but got swept each time.