In the NBA, perhaps more than any other professional sport, one player can make a massive difference in a team’s success. That’s why it can seem that an NBA trade involving a star player (or even more than one star player) can potentially have enormous repercussions.
Sometimes the addition of a key player to the mix can make a good team great. Occasionally, the impact is so great, it leads to an NBA championship. (Or even more than just one.)
But then again, there are other times when going big doesn’t pay off – and the team ends up in a worse spot than it was before.
With the news of the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, let’s take a look at some of the biggest trades in NBA history.
Wilt Chamberlain to the Sixers (1965)
Speaking of big, they don’t come much bigger than the 7-foot-1, 275-pound Chamberlain.
‘The Big Dipper’ led the NBA in scoring in each of his first five seasons with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors. But after the team had moved to the West Coast, Chamberlain returned home in the middle of the 1964-65 season when he was acquired by a mediocre franchise that just two years earlier was known as the Syracuse Nationals in exchange for Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer and cash.
Back in Philly, Chamberlain went from scoring champ to NBA champ in two years as the Sixers defeated his old team, the Warriors, in the 1967 NBA Finals. In his three seasons with the 76ers, Chamberlain won three MVP awards.
He was traded again in 1968 to the Los Angeles Lakers in another blockbuster and won a second NBA title there.
Oscar Robertson to the Bucks (1970)
The man who practically invented the triple-double (even before it was ever a thing) was an NBA All-Star each of his first 10 seasons with the Cincinnati Royals.
But in 1970, at the age of 31, he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Charlie Paulk and Flynn Robinson.
In his first year there, Robertson led a group of young Bucks to the league’s best record and a sweep of the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA Finals.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers (1975)
Also on that 1970-71 championship Bucks team was a second-year center (Lew Alcindor) who would shortly thereafter change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and was just beginning his dominance in the NBA.
Though the Bucks won their division all four years Kareem and ‘The Big O’ were on the same team, they never made it back to the Finals. So in 1975, Milwaukee sent Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley to the 30-52 Los Angeles Lakers for Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters.
Abdul-Jabbar was named NBA MVP each of his first two seasons in L.A. as the Lakers began to turn things around. After 40-42 in his first year, the Lakers never missed the playoffs again in Kareem’s final 13 seasons, winning five NBA titles.
Charles Barkley to the Suns (1992)
Charles Barkley was a six-time All-Star with six top-six MVP finishes with the Philadelphia 76ers when he was dealt to the Phoenix Suns in 1992 for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry.
After going on to star for the USA’s gold medal-winning ‘Dream Team’ at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Barkley made his presence felt in Phoenix by leading the Suns to the NBA’s best record and earning league MVP honors.
However, Barkley lost to fellow Dream Teamer Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the Finals. Although he was an All-Star in each of his four seasons in Phoenix, Barkley never did win that elusive ring.
Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat (2004)
Shaquille O’Neal was the NBA’s most dominant big man at the turn of the 21st Century, winning three consecutive NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers (and being named Finals MVP all three times).
But after the Lakers lost in the 2004 Finals to the Detroit Pistons, both O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson departed that offseason. The Lakers traded Shaq to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Lamar Odom, a 2006 first-round draft pick and a 2007 second-round draft pick.
In his first season with Miami, the Heat fell – again to the Pistons – in the Eastern Conference finals, but avenged that loss the following year by advancing to the 2006 NBA Finals and beating the Dallas Mavericks for the title.
Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks (2011)
A native of Brooklyn, Carmelo Anthony returned home after spending his first seven seasons with the Denver Nuggets.
As part of a three-team midseason trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony joined the New York Knicks, along with with Renaldo Balkman, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams and a 2016 first-round draft pick.
Anthony went on to have six consecutive All-Star seasons with the Knicks, leading the NBA in scoring in 2012-13 and finishing third in the MVP balloting. Although most of the other players in the deal had limited impact going forward, one of the draft picks the Nuggets acquired ended up being guard Jamal Murray, who was an important cog in their 2023 championship-winning squad.
Paul George to the Clippers (2019)
The Los Angeles Clippers made a bold move toward bolstering their championship hopes by acquiring six-time All-Star forward Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder. It came at a steep cost – Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, three first-round draft picks and another pair of pick swaps.
But by adding George, the Clippers were also able to sign star free agent Kawhi Leonard, at least somewhat justifying the high price. But with Leonard and George together, the Clippers only made it as far as the conference finals once.
Meanwhile, Gilgeous-Alexander has blossomed into one of the league’s top players, with top-five MVP finishes the past two seasons.
Anthony Davis to the Lakers (2019)
Shortly before the 2019 NBA draft, the New Orleans Pelicans finally worked out a way to trade disgruntled star Anthony Davis. After the Pelicans won the draft lottery to get the No. 1 overall pick, a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers came together quickly.
New Orleans received three players – Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart – plus three first-round draft picks (one a first-round swap). Meanwhile, the Lakers went on to win the NBA title in 2020 in Davis’ first season.
James Harden to the Nets (2021)
A huge four-team trade brought three-time scoring champion and 2018 MVP James Harden to Brooklyn midway through the 2020-21 season. The Nets had picked up Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in free agency a year earlier and felt the addition of Harden would give them the ‘Big Three’ needed to win a championship.
But to pull it off, the Nets had to give up Rodions Kurucs and three first-round picks to the Houston Rockets, plus several draft pick swaps. In addition, they dealt Caris LeVert and a pair of second-round picks to the Indiana Pacers and sent Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The trade was an unmitigated disaster that culminated with a second-round playoff exit and Harden being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers midway through the following season.
Kevin Durant to the Suns (2023)
After the Phoenix Suns lost in the 2021 NBA Finals and then bowed out in the second round the following year despite having the league’s best regular-season record, the midseason acquisition of All-Star forward Kevin Durant was believed to be the missing piece to get them over the top.
In a four-way trade with the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers, the 34-year-old Durant made his way to Phoenix in a massive exchange of players and draft picks (some of which still have yet to be exercised).
Even with Durant on board, the Suns still lost in the second round of the playoffs that season. And they exited in the first round last year.
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(This story was updated to add a new video)