5 most important Los Angeles Lakers trades in NBA history

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most decorated NBA franchises in the league and have won 16 NBA championships so far, second only to Boston Celtics (17). They are also one of the richest teams in the league and boast of fans from all around the world.

A long list of basketball legends have played and continue to play in the NBA donning the purple and gold. This includes players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, to name just a few.

The Lakers front office has a good history of putting together talented teams on the court and in today's article, we take a look at the five most important Los Angeles Lakers trades in NBA history.

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#5 Pau Gasol's arrival in Los Angeles

Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant won two NBA titles together

In 2007, the Lakers failed to reach the second round of the playoffs for the third straight season and there were rumors that Kobe Bryant wanted out.

In a move to pacify Bryant and propel the team's chances of winning the title, the Lakers traded Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, Marc Gasol and two draft picks (Donte Green and Greivis Vasquez) to the Memphis Grizzlies, in exchange for Pau Gasol and a draft pick (Devin Ebanks).

Pau made an immediate impact on the team as they went on to reach three straight NBA finals, winning two championships. He was the perfect foil for Bryant and they became one of the best duos in the Lakers history.

It is safe to say that the Lakers one-upped the Grizzlies with this trade, because while the Lakers went on to win multiple NBA championships, the Grizzlies never even reached the finals.

Barring Marc Gasol who led the team to the Conference Finals in 2013, winning Defensive Player of the Year award, none of the other players involved in this trade made any impact on the team.

#4 James Worthy traded to LA in exchange for Don Ford

James Worthy was inducted to the hall of fame in 2003

James Worthy was not supposed to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. However, it was destiny that played its part in making sure that he played in LA.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had the 1982 first round draft pick in a 1979 exchange for forward Don Ford. The Lakers selected Worthy with the first overall pick of the 1982 NBA draft. He would go on to spend all 12 seasons with the franchise, winning three NBA championships as part of the 'Showtime Lakers'.

Worthy earned seven All-Star selections and averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game during his NBA tenure.

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#3 Anthony Davis joins LeBron James in Los Angeles

A new era begins in Los Angeles

After yet another disappointing NBA season (2018-19) where the Lakers failed to make it to the post-season for seventh straight year, the Los Angeles Lakers front office went to work. This season was also the first time LeBron James, who was acquired in 2018 free agency, missed the playoffs in 14 years.

Anthony Davis, a six-time All-Star, is one of the most dominant centers in the league and had already requested the New Orleans Pelicans for a trade. There were huge speculations that he would be traded to the Lakers.

On 15 June 2019, the Pelicans agreed to trade Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks, including the Lakers' No. 4 overall selection in the 2019 NBA draft.

This move made the Lakers a championship contender overnight, but only time will tell how the trade will go down in the history of NBA trades. For now, it is safe to say that it deserves to be on this list.

#2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar lands in LA

Kareem has won three MVP awards with the Lakers

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is unarguably one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport. He was a dominant force on both ends of the floor and helped the Lakers win five NBA championships.

After getting selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the first overall pick in the 1969 NBA draft, Abdul-Jabbar led the Bucks to three NBA titles, winning two MVP awards. The league had no answer to his skills as he posted monstrous numbers on a nightly basis.

In 1974, he requested a trade to either the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers. And in 1975, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar and reserve center Walt Wesley from the Bucks for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters and rookies Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman.

The Lakers won this trade as they racked up multiple championships during Jabbar's tenure with the team while the Bucks did not get the same productivity from the players involved.

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#1 Kobe Bryant traded to LA by Charlotte

Kobe is one of the greatest to ever wear the Lakers' jersey

Kobe Bryant entered the 1996 NBA draft fresh out of high school. For most basketball players, going to college would have made more sense, but Bryant was not an ordinary basketball player.

The 1996 NBA draft is widely considered one of the most talented drafts in the history of the league. It had players like Allen Iverson (#1 pick), Stephon Marbury (#4 pick), Ray Allen (#5 pick) and Steve Nash (#15 pick), to name just a few.

With the 13th overall pick, the Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant. However, then-Lakers GM Jerry West wanted Bryant on his team as he was thoroughly impressed with the latter's pre-draft workouts.

A few days later, Bryant was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for center Vlade Divac. The 'Black Mamba' would eventually bring home five championships to LA and spend his entire NBA basketball career with the team.