1) LeBron James (Cavaliers to Heat in 2010, Heat to Cavaliers in 2014, Cavaliers to Lakers in 2018)

The 2010 “Decision” was hardly the first major transaction in NBA history but it was singular in its alteration of how fans, players, owners, and the media perceived free agency, branding, and the power balance between owners and players. James’ signing with the Heat in 2010 was a proving ground for players in their bargaining power, not just for themselves but also for current and future potential teammates. It also seemingly substantiated the long-standing claim that attractive franchises locales like Miami have an unfair advantage in the open free agency market but James turned that on its head soon after, returning to Cleveland in 2014 once his Heat contract expired. Cavaliers fans who were burning his jersey four years prior were now welcoming James back as a conquering hero, especially in 2016, when he finally made good on his promise to deliver a title in Cleveland. Job complete, James made another big move in 2018, signing with a Lakers team in disarray on the court but affording him the opportunity to advance his entertainment industry interests, and place his sons in top-level prep basketball programs.

2) Wilt Chamberlain (Warriors to 76ers in 1965, 76ers to Lakers in 1968)

Long before free agency allowed free movement around the league, a star switching teams in their prime was usually perceived as the unloading of a malcontent. This happened not just once but twice with Chamberlain, who was undoubtedly talented but also temperamental and seemingly inattentive. By the time he led the Warriors to the 1964 NBA Finals, in his fifth season in the league, fans were already irked by Chamberlain’s inability to win a title, his high salary (more than the rest of the roster combined) and his habit of missing stretches of games due to mysterious injuries and illnesses. With a young center waiting in the wings in Nate Thurmond, the Warriors made a bold move, trading Chamberlain to the 76ers. Initially reluctant to play again in Philadelphia, Chamberlain eventually cottoned to his new team and coaches and won his first championship in 1967, defeating his former Warriors teammates in the NBA Finals. But when Sixers management declined his request to take over as a player-coach, Chamberlain threatened a defection to the ABA. Their hand forced by the prospect of losing their superstar for nothing, the 76ers traded the reigning three-time MVP to the Lakers. By the time he reached Los Angeles, Chamberlain wasn’t quite his dominant self anymore but he was good enough to earn Finals MVP in 1972, as the Lakers won the title.

3) Bernard King (Nets to Jazz in 1979, Jazz to Warriors in 1980, Warriors to Knicks in 1982, Knicks to Bullets in 1987)

Though he was undeniably one of the league’s best pure scorers, King was traded three times in three years early in his career. Why? Not only was he dealing with injuries but King’s inconsistency was exacerbated by his worst kept secret of alcohol and drug abuse. King averaged 22.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in his first two seasons but the Nets were concerned about his erratic lifestyle and traded him at age 22 to the Jazz. He barely suited up for Utah, playing in just 19 games before checking into a rehab facility, then getting traded to the Warriors during his convalescence. Golden State provided safe harbor for King’s career revival, including his first All-Star appearance in 1982, but the Warriors traded him after just two seasons anyway, this time to the Knicks for a fellow troubled, young star in Micheal Ray Richardson. King and New York turned out to be a surprisingly successful pairing, until an ACL tear suffered in 1985 waylaid his career. When the Knicks renounced his rights in 1987, King made one more move and one more triumphant comeback, averaging 20+ points per game for three straight seasons with the Bullets, and making his final All-Star appearance in 1991.

4) Dennis Rodman (Pistons to Spurs in 1993, Spurs to Bulls in 1995)

NBA teammates and coaches never questioned Rodman’s talent, work ethic, or results on the court, but his level of focus and dedication were always up for debate. It’s no coincidence that his two most successful stops were with Detroit (who drafted him in 1986) and Chicago (who traded for him in 1995), which both featured paternal figure coaches and stabilizing veteran leadership on the roster. In between, Rodman spent two volatile seasons with the Spurs, who traded for him in 1993 when the Pistons were rebuilding in the wake of Isiah Thomas’ retirement. When Rodman refused to join the huddle after getting benched during a game, San Antonio coach Bob Hill essentially gave a “him or me” ultimatum to the Spurs executive management. The front office sided with their coach, unloading Rodman on the Bulls in exchange for Will Perdue. It turned out to be an absolute bargain, as Rodman was essential to three Bulls titles, even as his off-court distractions and mercurial behavior continued, seemingly unabated.

5) Jerry Lucas (Royals to Warriors in 1969, Warriors to Knicks in 1971)

Oscar Robertson was the centerpiece of the Cincinnati Royals’ roster in the ’60s, earning league MVP in ’63-’64 (when he averaged a triple-double), winning seven assist titles, and getting named 1st-Team All-NBA nine straight years. But in the minds of a majority of Cincy fans, Lucas was the team’s true star, thanks in large part to his local roots (born and raised in nearby Middletown, Ohio) but also the racial politics of the day. There was a loose detente so long as the team was contending for titles but once Cincinnati started to struggled late in the decade, ownership knew they had to break up their superstar duo. Despite his popularity, Lucas wound up shouldering most of the blame, due to his seemingly flagging interest in basketball. He was traded to the Warriors in 1969, revived his reputation as an All-Star level player, then was traded again in 1971 to the Knicks, where Lucas accepted a lesser role to play for a championship team to close out his career.

6) Chris Webber (Warriors to Bullets in 1994, Wizards to Kings in 1998)
7) Tracy McGrady (Raptors to Magic in 2000, Magic to Rockets in 2004)

Between Webber getting drafted by the Warriors in 1993 and McGrady by the Raptors in 1997, major changes were made to rookie salary frameworks, creating similar but distinct contract experiences for both players. Knowing that a rookie salary cap was likely imminent, Webber shrewdly negotiated a 15-year, $76 million rookie deal while he could. That contract somehow included an opt-out after the first season, which Webber utilized after earning Rookie of the Year for Golden State but clashing often with coach Don Nelson. With their hands tied, the Warriors traded Webber to the Bullets, where he reunited with Michigan teammate Juwan Howard. But when the “Fab Five” duo failed to win a playoff series in four seasons together, Webber was dealt again, this time to the Kings in exchange for aging former All-Stars Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe. As for McGrady, he would have likely also taken advantage of an opt-out clause after his rookie season but the 1995 CBA negotiations had stricken it. He therefore had to play out his rookie contract with the Raptors before testing free agency as a 21-year-old in 2000 and signing a huge contract with the Magic. McGrady would later express regret over this decision, as he blossomed into an All-Star in Orlando but the rest of the franchise was in disarray. As part of yet another rebuilding effort in 2004, the Magic traded McGrady (who was still only 25 years old) to Houston, where he spent the remainder of his prime before injuries derailed his career.

8) Moses Malone (Rockets to 76ers in 1982, 76ers to Bullets in 1986)

During an ABA and NBA career that spanned two decades, Malone was under contract with 11 different franchises, though he suited up for only nine of them. The Jazz and Trail Blazers both selected Malone in a dispersal draft but never put him on the court before losing him. For the Jazz, they essentially reneged on their rights in order to restore a first round pick in 1977, while the Blazers selected Malone in the subsequent 1976 dispersal only to trade him almost immediately to the Braves. Buffalo proved a brief destination as well, as Malone played just six total minutes in two games in a Braves uniform before getting traded to the Rockets. Still only 21 years old at this point, Malone quickly thrived in Houston, where he was reunited with his former ABA coach, Tom Nissalke. He won league MVP awards in 1979 and 1982, and carried the Rockets to a surprise NBA Finals appearance in 1981, but the franchise wanted to rebuild and shockingly traded the reigning MVP to the 76ers in 1982. Malone’s first season in Philly was the stuff of legends, earning both his third league MVP and Finals MVP as the Sixers won a dominant title. Four years later, he was traded again, this time to the Bullets, making back-to-back All-Star appearances in Washington before closing out his career with stints in Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Antonio, and even back in Philadelphia for one season.

“The bright lights and pressure of playing in Willis Reed’s shoes proved too much for [Bob] McAdoo, and his career quickly spiraled as he bounced from the slumping Knicks to the aging Celtics to the just plain bad Pistons to the even worse Nets, all in the span of just two years.”

9) Jason Kidd (Mavericks to Suns in 1996, Suns to Nets in 2001)

You don’t often see star NBA point guards getting swapped in their prime but it happened not once but twice to Kidd in a five-year span. The first was in 1996, when he was one of several disgruntled youngsters on the Mavericks, demanding a trade to extricate himself from teammate Jim Jackson (they were reportedly feuding over a love triangle with singer Toni Braxton). Dallas obliged, sending him to the Suns for a package centered around Sam Cassell. By 2001, Kidd was one of the premier players in the NBA, coming off three straight seasons in which he led the league in assists and was designated 1st-Team All-NBA. It came as a shock, then, when the Suns traded him on the eve of the ’01-’02 season to the Nets for Stephon Marbury. There were rumors that the Suns were upset at the accusations that Kidd had assaulted his wife, and wanted a new clean moral slate on the roster (the general manager at the time, Jerry Colangelo, is infamous for jettisoning players that he doesn’t believe fit his right wing Christian values). Kidd was still only 28 years old at this point and really just hitting his prime. He finished second in league MVP voting in ’01-’02, and immediately led the Nets to their first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

10) Adrian Dantley (Braves to Pacers in 1977, Pacers to Lakers in 1977, Lakers to Jazz in 1979, Jazz to Pistons in 1986, Pistons to Mavericks in 1989)

When the Braves shipped Dantley off to the Pacers in 1977, he technically wasn’t the first reigning Rookie of the Year to be traded. Ray Felix was dealt from the Baltimore Bullets to the Knicks right after earning the award in ’53-’54 but that was special circumstances, as the Bullets franchise folded just a couple months later. Despite averaging 26.5 points and 9.4 rebounds per game in his first 23 games with Indiana, Dantley was inexplicably traded a second time in just three months, this time to the Lakers. Fair or not, Dantley’s frequent address changes were a result of his reputation as sullen and selfish. He seemed willing to settle into a more complementary role with Los Angeles but just after drafting Magic Johnson, they traded Dantley to the Jazz for Spencer Haywood. Thus, Dantley spent most of the ’80s racking up huge stats for mostly bad Utah teams, winning two scoring titles and being named to six All-Star teams. He was part of two more significant trades in his early 30s, first in 1986 from the Jazz to the Pistons, with whom he made his one and only NBA Finals appearance in 1988. Then from the Pistons to the Mavericks for Mark Aguirre during the ’88-’89 season.

11) Shaquille O’Neal (Magic to Lakers in 1996, Lakers to Heat in 2004)
12) Dwight Howard (Magic to Lakers in 2012, Lakers to Rockets in 2013)

Insulted by his lowball offer from Magic owner Rich DeVos, annoyed over his perceived disrespect from Orlando fans (who voted in an Orlando Sentinel poll that he wasn’t worth the amount for which he was asking), and enticed by the prospect of Hollywood proximity, O’Neal made a natural move in 1996, signing with the Lakers. It was one of the biggest and most impactful free agency contracts in NBA history, garnering $120 million over seven years, a span in which O’Neal would eventually lead the Lakers to three championships, earning Finals MVP honors each time. He would later sign a massive three-year, $88 million extension with the Lakers but didn’t last the entire span of that contract, getting traded to the Heat in 2004 so that the keys could be turned over to Kobe Bryant. In the same summer that O’Neal returned to Florida, the Magic drafted their new franchise cornerstone center in Howard. While he never quite reached the same heights as Shaq, Howard did repeat his feat of carrying the Magic to the NBA Finals, doing so in 2009. He then followed in O’Neal’s footsteps across the country to the Lakers, forcing a trade to the franchise in 2012 in a blockbuster deal that also included the Nuggets and 76ers. This Lakers endeavor into collecting superstar talent didn’t work out so well, as Howard being teamed with an aging duo of Bryant and Pau Gasol led to only a first round playoff exit. A free agent that summer, Howard set out for Houston, making his final All-Star appearance as a Rocket in ’13-’14.

13) Tiny Archibald (Kings to Nets in 1976, Nets to Braves in 1977, Clippers to Celtics in 1978)

There’s no doubting Archibald’s talent and success in retrospect but throughout his pro career, he was still dogged by trepidation about his size. They didn’t nickname him “Tiny” ironically although Archibald wasn’t that diminutive, listed officially as 6’1″. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals in 1970, supposedly sign unseen, and became the franchise’s second biggest star ever after Oscar Robertson, winning a scoring title and getting named 1st-Team All-NBA three times. But the Royals (who moved to Kansas City in 1972 and became the Kings) made just one playoff appearance in Archibald’s first six seasons, an opening round loss to the Bulls in 1975. As part of a rebuilding project in 1976, they traded him to the Nets, who had just joined the league from the ABA. Struggling already with the toll on his body from injuries and overuse, Archibald was damaged goods at age 28 and didn’t give the Nets much in his one season there, playing in just 34 games. He contributed even less to the Braves, who traded for him before the ’77-’78 season then watched helplessly as Archibald missed the entire campaign with a torn Achilles’. Buffalo immediately flipped Archibald to the Celtics and he closed out his prime as a deadly bench scorer for a perennial title contender.

14) Ray Allen (Bucks to SuperSonics in 2003, SuperSonics to Celtics in 2007)

It’s debatable whether Allen’s early career was derailed by playing mostly on poor teams in Milwaukee and Seattle, or if he was just incapable of carrying a team as its best player. Either way, the fact remains that he participated in the second round of the playoffs just twice in the first 11 years of his career. After getting traded to the Celtics in 2007 and teaming up with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce as the “Big Three,” Allen finally found playoff success, helping Boston to a championship in his first year there, and playing in the NBA Finals again in 2010. As for his early years, it can’t be stressed enough how bad the Bucks were when they traded for him on draft day in 1996. Highlighted by malcontents like Vin Baker and washed-up role players like Joe Wolf, it took several years for the team to completely rebuild around Allen and Glenn Robinson. Though they finally made a playoffs run in 2001 that ended with a controversial Conference Finals loss to the Sixers, Milwaukee were wracked by injuries in ensuing years, and dealt Allen to Seattle at the 2003 trade deadline. After several up-and-down years with the Sonics, and then his coronation with the Celtics, Allen eventually won one more title as a role player for the Heat, though he was well past his prime at that point.

15) Bob McAdoo (Braves to Knicks in 1976, Knicks to Celtics in 1979, Celtics to Pistons in 1979, Pistons to Nets in 1981, Nets to Lakers in 1981)

Only two years old when they drafted McAdoo second overall in 1972, the Braves were granted instant legitimacy by their new young star. Maybe the best pure shooting big man the league had ever seen, McAdoo sported an array of post moves to go with his deadly mid-range jumper. In addition to winning Rookie of the Year in 1973 and MVP in 1975, he led Buffalo to three straight playoff appearances. But those postseason appearances did little to improve attendance for the Braves, and ownership began cleaning house in anticipation of selling the franchise (they would soon move to San Diego) and dealt McAdoo to the Knicks in 1977. The bright lights and pressure of playing in Willis Reed’s shoes proved too much for McAdoo, and his career quickly spiraled as he bounced from the slumping Knicks to the aging Celtics to the just plain bad Pistons to the even worse Nets, all in the span of two years. Just a few years removed from being so good that his only true peer in the league was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the languishing McAdoo finally joined a contender in 1981, when he was traded to his former rival’s Lakers. Remaking himself as a dangerous scoring and rebounding threat off the bench, he played in four straight NBA Finals with Los Angeles, winning titles in 1982 and 1984.