The NBA has seen various shock trades in the competition's history, with some being baffling, some eye-raising, and some destined for glory. Of those streamlined for greatness, there are more than a few that have turned out to be successful.
Various stars have plied their trades with multiple teams, winning Championships, MVP awards and more - but the majority of those have only been permissible via trades, through the clever work of owners and general managers. Here, GIVEMESPORTtakes a look at the ten best trades in NBA history.
10 Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers (2019)
Anthony Davis
Credit: © Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Davis had spent seven years at the New Orleans Pelicans prior to his move to the Golden Coast, having averaged 28.1 points-per-game in the 2017/18 campaign - seeing himself as one of the leading stars in the NBA at the time.
However, shortly before the 2019 draft, the Pelicans agreed a deal to swap Davis for some major names. The power forward was just 26 at the time, coming into his prime, and having made six consecutive All-Star appearances for the 'Pelis', he was sent to the Crypto.com Arena to join up with LeBron James.
His time in LA was an instant hit; he won the NBA Championship in 2020, ending a decade-long run without the title for the franchise, racking up a further four All-Star appearances in that time.
In the other direction of the three-team trade was Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart to the Louisiana-based outfit, including four more picks - whilst the Washington Wizards received Isaac Bonga, Jemerrio Jones, Moritz Wagner and the Lakers' 2022 second-round pick.
9 Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers (2014)
Kevin Love
Love is another star who joined LeBron to bring home success. The power forward was one of the best in his position at the time, and with James returning to Ohio, Love served as the final piece of the Cleveland Cavaliers team that would since make four consecutive Finals appearances - facing off against the Golden State Warriors each time.
Although they only won the 2016 title, losing the other three, Love played a huge role alongside LeBron - recording a career-best steals ratio of 0.9-per-game in the 2016/17 campaign, as well as mustering 19 points-per-game that season, helping the Cavs to their Golden Era.
In the other direction went Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and Thaddeus Young - with Wiggins especially expected to make a splash in Minnesota - whilst the Philadelphia 76ers received Alexey Shved, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Cleveland's first-round pick for 2016.
8 Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers (2025)
Luka Doncic with the fans
This was a deal that sent shockwaves across the world, and on social media. Doncic, for six years acting as the Dallas Mavericks' MVP, ranked as an All-Star from 2020 through to 2024, registering an outrageous 33.9 points-per-game in the 2023/24 campaign before embarking on an equally impressive 2024//25 campaign with the Mavericks, hitting his highest steals-per-game ratio before the shock move to California.
On February 2, 2025, he was traded alongside Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris in exchange for Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick in 2029. The Lakers also traded Jalen Hood-Schifino and a 2025 second-round pick to the Utah Jazz, who also acquired a 2025 second-round pick from the Mavs.
Regarded as the most unexpected trade in NBA history, the only reason it isn't further up the list is that Doncic hasn't had time to prove himself in Los Angeles just yet.
A piece of history was made as it was the first time that two All-NBA players were traded for each other in the mid-season, as well as Doncic not being told of the trade until it was complete. Time will tell if it turns out to be the right move.
7 Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics (2007)
Kevin Garnett
Garnett's move from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics as a 31-year-old was quite a shock.
Being traded for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash and a 2009 first-round pick, it represented the first 7-for-1 deal for a single player in league history.
Garnett was, at the time, the longest-serving player for one team, having spent 12 years with the Timberwolves - and it was a move that paid off handsomely.
His first season in Massachusetts saw him win the NBA Championship in a 26-game series, with two 4–3 wins in the first round and the Conference Semifinals respectively, before a 4-2 win over the Detroit Pistons was followed up by a 4-2 win over the Lakers in the Finals to see Garnett win his first and only title. It was a move that paid off handsomely for Doc Rivers' side.
6 Scottie Pippen to the Chicago Bulls (1987)
Chicago Bulls
Pippen was drafted as the fifth overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics, but with the Chicago Bulls eyeing Pippen before the draft, they manufactured a draft with the Washington state-based outfit that sent him to the Eastern Conference in exchange for eighth pick Olden Polynice and future draft options.
He was integral to their 1990s dynasty, playing a key role in all of their 1991, 1992 and 1993 Championship wins in their first three-peat of the decade, featuring in all but one of their regular season games in that time, recording a career-best field goal percentage in 1991, and seven assists-per-game in the 1992 campaign.
That was then followed up by another three-peat in 1996, 1997 and 1998, ending a two-year run by the Houston Rockets, with Pippen shining alongside the likes of Dennis Rodman and Michael Jordan, among others, to bring home six Championships in eight years to Illinois.
Considered as one of the best small forwards of all-time, Pippen became not only a star on the pitch, but a cultural icon in popularising the sport to what it is today.
5 Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers (1996)
Kobe Bryant
In a similar move to Pippen, Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th overall pick in the 1996 draft - though with the Lakers also having their eye on him prior, they swapped him for a move to California.
Aged just 17, Bryant became only the sixth player in the competition's history to head directly into the draft from high school, bypassing the college phase that most players go through - and having worked away in LA prior to the draft against former Lakers stars Larry Drew and Michael Cooper, it seemed as though he was destined for them.
Kobe was traded for starting center, Vlade Divac, which essentially freed up funds for the Lakers to sign Shaquille O'Neal - and that turned out to be a stroke of genius.
It took just four seasons, and two with Bryant as a genuine starting player, for the Lakers to taste success under his magic, winning the three-peat from 2000 to 2002 with Bryant being a centrepiece of their team, averaging at least 22.5 points-per-game in each of those seasons - whilst a further two Championships in 2009 and 2010 once O'Neal had left to make Bryan the cornerstone of the franchise.
4 Bill Russell to the Boston Celtics (1956)
Bill Russell
Another player who was drafted by another team and immediately transferred elsewhere, Russell was the second overall pick in the 1956 Draft, being selected by the St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks, though he moved to the Celtics after being traded for starting hero Ed Macauley and Celtics draft pick, Cliff Hagan.
Arguably, it's the most successful trade in NBA history in terms of titles won. Russell was the mantlepiece star in terms of the Celtics dynasty, winning 11 NBA Championships in 13 years during his playing career in Massachusetts, only missing out on the title in his second and eleventh campaign in the famous green jersey.
An outstanding career average of 22.5 rebounds-per-game sets him as one of the greatest players the league has ever seen, as well as an average of 4.3 assists-per-game and 15.1 points-per-game, being the ideal all-rounder for the Celtics to strut their stuff. A Boston legend, it was a bold move that paid off for coaching icon, Red Auerbach.
3 Wilt Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers (1965)
Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Lakers
Chamberlain only really started his NBA career at the age of 23, having joined the San Francisco (now Golden State) Warriors from the Harlem Globetrotters in 1959 - but it was his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers back in 1965 that really captured his best form.
Chamberlain had previously played in Philadelphia for the Warriors, until the franchise was shifted to California in 1962 - racking up the long-standing NBA record of 100 points in a game that saw them beat the New York Knicks in the team's 169-142 win just months prior to their move, and still holding 72 NBA records, the 7ft 1in goliath moved back to Pennsylvania three years after.
Costing $150,000, and with Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking and Lee Shaffer going the other way, Chamberlain finally won his first NBA Championship during his time at the Sixers, finally ending the Celtics' dynasty with a Game Four sweep, beating the Warriors in a fairytale ending. It remains one of just three Championships in their history, and in his four years in Philly, Chamberlain won the MVP award three years in a row before joining the Lakers.
2 Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat, Lamar Odom to the Los Angeles Lakers (2004)
Shaquille O'Neal Bill Russell
Our first and only entry on this list saw both teams come out in a positive light from a trade. It was an initially shocking one for the Lakers, with prized star O'Neal departing after years of success. 'Shaq' had been a three-time NBA Champion with the Lakers from 2000 to 2002, winning the Finals MVP award in each of those campaigns, as well as being the league's MVP in 2000 and being an All-Star throughout.
But deteriorating relationships with owner Jerry Buss and co-star Bryant, with the latter calling O'Neal 'out of shape and a poor leader', saw them lose out to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA finals.
The Miami Heat came in, with O'Neal being traded for Caron Butler, Brian Grant, a future first-round draft choice and Odom, and they hit the ground running by topping the Eastern Conference before losing the Finals - but got their vengeance the following year by winning the Finals 4-2 over the Dallas Mavericks.
But it wasn't just Shaq who gained success; Odom featured for the Lakers in their two Championship wins in 2009 and 2010, meaning he equally found glory years down the line in what was a successful trade for both teams.ng for the East Coast - whilst Odom joined to aid Bryant in a new-look Lakers side.
1 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers (1975)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem was the first overall pick in the 1969 draft, starting out at the Milwaukee Bucks, leading them to their first Championship in 1971 - though in 1975, he was traded to the Lakers where he would spend the rest of his career.
Having won the NBA MVP award in three of the four years prior to his move to Los Angeles, his move saw them part with Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, Junior Bridgeman and cash to the Bucks. It was always going to be a positive move - and that proved in terms of accolades and such.
Winning five NBA Championships with the Lakers, he was the quintessential figure of the 'Showtime' era, leading the NBA in points, games played, minutes played, blocked shots and defensive rebounds at the time of his retirement, as well as continuing to be the all-time leader in minutes played and field goals made.
As aforementioned, this was never going to be a move that would fail - and the Lakers struck gold in one of their many dynasty eras.
Statistics courtesy of StatMuse. Correct as of 30-07-25.