5 most important Los Angeles Lakers trades in NBA history

#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.