The L.A. Lakers have become one of the most accomplished and famous franchises in NBA history. The team was founded in 1947 in Minneapolis and moved to Los Angeles in 1960.
Since their formation, the Lakers have seen many NBA legends play for their franchise. Along the way, they have won 17 championships, just one behind the Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history.
Over the years, L.A. has found many of its legends in the NBA Draft. The franchise has also made multiple trades for both players and draft picks that have worked in their favor and helped them win those 17 titles.
Some trades that did not make this list include the trade that sent Wilt Chamberlain from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Lakers in 1968, which led to the Lakers’ championship in 1971-72. Another is the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers from the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019, leading the Lakers to win their 17th championship in 2019-20.
Here are the top five trades in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers.
5. James Worthy
A crucial part of three championships in the 1980s
In 1980, the Lakers made a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire a 1982 first-round pick and Butch Lee in exchange for Don Ford and a 1980 first-rounder.
After the Cavaliers finished with the worst record in the league during the 1981-82 season, the draft pick sent to L.A. became the first pick in the 1982 NBA Draft. With that pick, the Lakers selected James Worthy, and the rest is history.
Worthy became the first and only player in NBA history to be taken first overall by a team coming off of winning a championship. He immediately impacted the Lakers, becoming their starting small forward in his second season.
With the Lakers led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , Worthy was not asked to be the best player on the court, but some nights he was.
In his second season, 1984-85, L.A. won the title. The Lakers would then win two more titles, in 1986-87 and 1987-88. Worthy was named the 1987–88 Finals MVP.
Worthy spent all 12 seasons of his career with the Lakers, winning three championships. He was also a seven-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA selection.
In 2003, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
4. Pau Gasol
Created a dynamic duo with Kobe Bryant
During the 2007-08 season, the Lakers were at the top of the Western Conference when their starting center, Andrew Bynum, suffered an injury.
With the Memphis Grizzlies looking to rebuild, the two agreed to a trade that sent Pau Gasol to the Lakers for four players and two first-round picks.
Two players that were included were Kwame Brown and Pau’s brother, Marc Gasol .
After adding Pau, the Lakers created a new dynamic duo of him and Kobe Bryant . The two dominated in Phil Jackson’s system, propelling the Lakers to the NBA Finals in Gasol’s first season with the team.
They lost to the Celtics in the finals but bounced back over the next two seasons, winning back-to-back championships.
Gasol spent seven years in L.A., helping the franchise win two championships over that span. He was also a three-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection.
In 2023, Gasol was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Led Lakers to five championships alongside Magic Johnson
After spending his first six seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks , including leading them to their first championship in franchise history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was traded from Milwaukee to L.A.
The trade included four players being sent from the Lakers to the Bucks and two to the Lakers.
Abdul-Jabbar started strong with his new team, winning the MVP award in each of his first two seasons. Alongside Magic Johnson, the duo won their first championship in 1979-80, Magic’s rookie season.
Over their next eight seasons, the duo would lead the Lakers to four more championships, including winning three with Worthy on the roster.
Kareem won five championships in his 14 seasons in Los Angeles and was named the 1984–85 Finals MVP.
He won three NBA MVP awards, was a 13-time All-Star and 10-time All-NBA selection and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.
2. Kobe Bryant
A draft night trade in 1996 led the Lakers to five titles
In July 1996, Jerry West, the Lakers’ general manager, made two moves that would make the Lakers a threat in the Western Conference for the next 20 years.
It started on draft night, when the Lakers and Charlotte Hornets agreed to swap the 13th pick in the 1996 draft, Kobe Bryant , to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.
The trade was a huge risk, as Divac was a proven player who had already been in L.A. for five seasons. Replacing him with a 17-year-old Bryant was an aggressive move, but it paid off perfectly for the Lakers.
Seventeen days after the trade, the Lakers signed Shaquille O’Neal in free agency, creating one of the most dominant duos in NBA history.
Kobe struggled during his rookie season but bounced back a year later, showing signs that West’s move was going to pay off. In 1999-00, the trade paid off, as the Lakers captured their first championship since 1987-88.
L.A. would win the title the next two seasons and is still the last team to three-peat.
After O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004, the Lakers struggled. They missed the playoffs in 2004-05 and never advanced past the first round until they reached the finals in 2007-08.
They made the deal for Gasol in 2008, which changed everything. The Lakers would win back-to-back championships in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
It is safe to say that West’s risk paid off as Bryant ended his career as a five-time champion and two-time Finals MVP over his 20 seasons in L.A. He was also an 18-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA selection and 12-time All-Defense selection.
In 2007-08, he won the NBA MVP award for the first and only time.
In 2020, Kobe’s historical career was capped off by his induction into the Hall of Fame.
1. Magic Johnson
Led the Lakers to five championships during 1980s
In 1976, the Lakers were still trying to build around Abdul-Jabbar. To do so, they worked a sign-and-trade with the New Orleans Jazz, now the Utah Jazz , that allowed the Jazz to sign Gail Goodrich.
The Lakers received four picks in return, including a 1979 first-round pick, which they used to select Magic Johnson first overall.
Magic immediately made an impact in his rookie year, finishing second to Larry Bird in the Rookie of the Year race. Alongside Abdul-Jabbar, the two led the Lakers to a championship in Johnson’s rookie season.
The duo would lead the Lakers to four more championships as they dominated the NBA in the 1980s.
Magic spent all 13 seasons with the Lakers, winning five championships and three Finals MVPs. He was also a 12-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA selection and three-time NBA MVP.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, capping off one of the best careers by a point guard in NBA history.
With all the success Johnson brought to the Lakers in the 1980s, the best trade in franchise history is arguably the one that sent the pick that turned out to be Magic to L.A. in 1976.