
Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world. In order to compete in a city full of celebrities, you need a star. The Lakers franchise have been lucky enough to land some of the best players in basketball throughout their storied history. From Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson to Shaquille O’Neal to Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, the Lakers have had a superstar headliner for the past 50 years.
LeBron is now in the twilight of his phenomenal career. His individual statistics still look good, but he is no longer an elite player. He is 40 years old and his star is slowly fading. The Lakers needed a new box office headliner to lead the Lake Show. Enter Luka Doncic.
ESPN reporter Shams Charania, Adrian Wojnarowski’s protégé, dropped an epic “Woj bomb” shortly after midnight eastern and 9 p.m. L.A. time. The breaking news post said the Dallas Mavericks were trading Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the L.A. Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first round pick.
The post, which was viewed by 81 million users, was so unbelievable that Shams had to immediately do a follow-up post just to let everyone know that he didn’t get hacked. It was real.
The multiplayer blockbuster deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers and shipped Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks not only sent shockwaves around the basketball community but it ushered in a seismic shift in L.A. LeBron’s Lake Show residency is expiring soon, and Luka steps in as the new face of the team tasked with keeping the championship window open.
“Luka is a one-of-a-kind, young global superstar who will lead this franchise for years to come. His killer instincts and commitment to winning championships will be a driving force for the team,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.
Doncic, who turns 26 this month, is just entering his prime. He’s coming off a season in which he led the NBA in scoring (33.9) and made his first NBA Finals appearance. He was named to the All-NBA first team five times in his seven seasons in Dallas.
Only time will tell if the Lakers’ Luka gamble will pay off and result in an NBA title. Where does the Doncic-for-Davis trade rank in Lakers lore? OMFB examined five blockbuster trades in NBA history involving the Lakers and what were ultimate payoffs.
Lakers traded for Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 — Wilt the Stilt was 31 years old and still in his prime when the Philadelphia 76ers sent him to the Lakers for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark, Jerry Chambers and cash. Four years later, the Lakers won an NBA title with Chamberlain teaming up with fellow Hall of Fame Jerry West on a squad considered by many as one of the greatest teams in NBA history. With Chamberlain as the anchor, the Lakers won a record 33 straight games and finished with a then-record 69-13 mark. Bill Sharman’s group capped off the season with a convincing series victory over the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
Lakers traded for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 — The Kareem trade altered the fortunes of two franchises. The Milwaukee Bucks, which received Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith and Brian Winters from L.A., would go more than 50 years before winning their next championship. Meanwhile, the Kareem trade was the foundation of the Lakers’ dynasty in the 1980s. Abdul-Jabbar was named NBA MVP in each of his first two seasons in L.A. and never missed the playoffs in his final 13 seasons. Kareem and Magic Johnson became one of the greatest duos as the pair led the Showtime Lakers to five NBA championships and eight appearances in the NBA Finals in a 10-year span.
Lakers traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat in 2004 — One month after losing to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals, the Lakers jettisoned Shaquille O’Neal to Miami for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a future first-round pick which turned out to be guard Jordan Farmar. The Heat clearly won the first half of the trade, winning a title in Shaq’s second year Miami. But the Lakers might have had the last laugh. The first season without Shaq (2004-05) the Lakers went 34-48 and earned a lottery pick, a pick they used to select center Andrew Bynum. Bynum, Odom and Farmar became part of the core group, spearheaded by Kobe, that reached the NBA Finals three straight years and won championships in 2009 and 2010.
Lakers trade for Pau Gasol in 2008 — In one of the most surprising in-season trades in league history, the Lakers swung for the fences and hit a home run by acquiring Spanish big man Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the draft rights to Marc Gasol, and first-round picks in 2008 and 2010. Pau instantly clicked with Kobe, seamlessly fitting in without a hitch. He quickly picked up Phil Jackson’s complicated triangle offense the moment he arrived, and the Lakers went from pretenders to contenders almost overnight. Gasol, Bynum and Odom formed one of the best frontcourts, and the Lakers won 57 games in Gasol’s first four seasons. Gasol, whose No. 16 was retired by the team, will be remembered for his heroic 19-point, 18-rebound performance in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in 2019 — Prior to the mega deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, the Lakers acquired LeBron James in free agency in the summer of 2018. LeBron wanted an All-Star running mate and he found it in AD. The Lakers gave up a big part of their young talent – Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart – plus three first-round draft picks (one a first-round swap) in order to get AD. But it was worth the gamble. The Lakers went on to win the NBA title in 2020 inside the Disney World bubble in Davis’ first full season teaming up with LeBron. Davis’ six years in L.A. was a mixed bag. He played in only 132 games from 2021-23 due to an assortment of injuries. When he’s healthy, he was outstanding. He played a career-high 76 games in 2023-24, a season the Lakers won the inaugural NBA Cup, and made second team All-NBA.