Remembering When Flip Murray Pulled a Linsanity in 2003

Remember Ronald Murray? How about Flip Murray? If you were a fan of a central division team between 2002-2010, there's a good chance you do because Flip played for the Bucks, Cavs, Pistons, Pacers and Bulls. The 2nd round pick of the Bucks also spent some time in Charlotte and Seattle. And it was in Seattle where he caught the attention of the league, when he made Sonics' fans forget about injured Ray Allen for a few weeks during "Flipsanity" in 2003.

For those who don't remember the insanity around Flip in 2003 -- when he also put up 25 points and 10 assists as a sophomore in the Rookie Challenge game -- just imagine Linsanity lite starring the Sonics as the Knicks, Ray Allen as Melo and without the Asian story line in a world without social media.

In Ray's absence, Flip scored 20+ points in 10 out of the first 11 games of the season. In the season opener against the Clippers, Flip connected on 10-of-17 shots for a career-high 24 points. Then he followed that game up with 22 more points and a career-high 7 assist. After back-to-back 24-point performances, he had the best game of the streak with 29 points, 8 assists and a game-winning 3 against KG, Sprewell and the Wolves.

He averaged 20 over his next three before putting up a new career-high of 31 points against Dwyane Wade (18 PTS) and the Miami Heat.

"You don't know," Coach Nate McMillan said about not being sure what he had in Flip, who came over to the Sonics in the Ray Allen for Payton trade. "It's a gamble. It's a guess. But I felt comfortable with him. I knew he would be OK out there. I knew he could score. He could shoot. But I didn't know he would be so poised and under control and be able to put up the numbers he's put up."

Although he would score 20+ points in 8 more games that season, "Flipsanity" only lasted a few more days. His time in Seattle didn't last much longer. Flip then flipped & bounced around the league for the rest of the decade before taking his game international in 2011.

BONUS: FLIP SCORES 40 IN THE D-LEAGUE