As Luka Dončić goes through his first full season with the Lakers, it’s impossible to forget the jaw-dropping move in which the Mavericks and now-fired general manager Nico Harrison decided to part ways with the face of the franchise.
Luckily for Dallas, the Mavs found incredible luck in the NBA draft lottery following Dončić’s departure, receiving the No. 1 pick and prized prospect Cooper Flagg. The Mavs have the main piece of the puzzle figured out, but everything else is up in the air amid a 5–14 start and injuries to Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, the centerpiece in the package received for Dončić.
On the other hand, the Lakers are off to a strong start as their new superstar leads the team in nearly every statistical category over the first chunk of the season. There’s still plenty to figure out in Los Angeles with LeBron James’s career nearing its end. However, the Lakers have a true star in the mix, one who led Dallas to the Finals just two seasons ago.
In a tale of two franchises at opposite ends, one trying to win now and the other set for a full rebuild, it’s impossible to separate Dončić from the shocker that sent him to L.A.
The Lakers and Mavs will meet at Crypto.com Arena Friday, marking the first time Dončić will play his former team this season, plus the first meeting since Harrison’s canning. Eventually, if all goes to plan, the Lakers’ star for the future could join an impressive list of superstars who won their first championship only after a change of scenery.
Here are six star players who won their first NBA title once they moved teams, an illustrious group Dončić hopes to join with L.A.:
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal won Rookie of the Year and made four All-Star teams with the Magic before he signed a seven-year, $121 million contract to join the Lakers in 1996. He won his only NBA MVP award four seasons later as the Lakers went on to win the championship, the first of a three-peat. O’Neal was named Finals MVP in each of the Lakers’ three consecutive championships. He won another title in 2006 with the Heat after Los Angeles traded him for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round pick (which the Lakers used to select Jordan Farmar).
The Magic went to the Finals with O’Neal in ‘95, but they were swept by the Rockets.
LeBron James
James left the Cavaliers in his famous televised special, , where he announced he was taking his talents to South Beach and the Heat. Chris Bosh and James joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, creating the NBA’s most notable big three. The Heat went to the NBA Finals in James’s first season with the team, but fell to the Mavericks in six games.
The following season, the Heat got over the hump and won the title, giving James his first championship. They went back-to-back and James was named Finals MVP in both instances. He returned to Cleveland after four seasons in Miami and led the Cavs to the franchise’s first title in ‘16. Then, he went west to Los Angeles after a four-year second stint with his home team. James has been with the Lakers for eight seasons and won his fourth title in ‘20. Now, he hopes to add a fifth with Dončić at his side as the new face of the franchise.
Wilt Chamberlain
The four-time MVP and the NBA’s all-time leading rebounder waited until his second team to find his first championship. Wilt Chamberlain started his record-setting career with the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, then was traded to the 76ers after his first five and a half seasons.
He made the Finals in his last full season with the Warriors in ’64, but they fell to the Celtics who were in the middle of a stretch where they won eight titles in a row behind Bill Russell and Bob Cousy. Chamberlain was dealt to Philadelphia (after starting his career in the city before the Warriors’ relocation) in ‘65. He won three MVPs in a row from 1966 to ’68 and won his first title with the team in ‘67.
Chamberlain was dealt to the Lakers before the 1968–69 season, which was certainly a bold move as the Sixers traded away the reigning MVP. He won his second and final championship with Los Angeles in ‘72, where he was named Finals MVP.
Kevin Durant
The Warriors signed Kevin Durant after nine seasons with the Thunder organization. He was drafted when the team was still in Seattle as the SuperSonics, departing for Oklahoma City a year later. He reached the Finals with Oklahoma City and fellow stars Russell Westbrook and James Harden in ‘12, but the Thunder fell to James and the Heat’s big three in five games.
Durant decided to join the Warriors in hopes of winning a title, which he did in his first year with Golden State. The Warriors went back-to-back and Durant was named Finals MVP after both series.
Kevin Garnett
It took Kevin Garnett 13 seasons to get his first, and only, NBA championship. Debatably best known for his 12 years as the Timberwolves’ franchise player, Garnett was enshrined forever as a champion in his first season with the Celtics. Before the 2007–08 season, Minnesota traded Garnett to Boston for Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff and two first-round picks.
The deal paid immediate dividends for the Celtics, who won their 17th NBA title during Garnett’s first year with the team. He proclaimed “anything is possible” after Boston defeated the Lakers in six games, a moment that lives on forever in NBA lore.
Anthony Davis
Let’s end with the player that the Mavs traded Dončić for.
New Orleans drafted Davis as the No. 1 pick in the ‘12 NBA draft. After seven seasons and just two postseason appearances, the Pelicans dealt him to the Lakers following a trade request from the star big man. He netted New Orleans a massive haul of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks, although the franchise remains in the NBA’s shadows to this day.
Davis joined James in his second season in Los Angeles as the duo won the title during the NBA’s unique end to the season in the bubble. Davis averaged 27.7 points over the postseason on the way to his first title, which included a memorable buzzer beater against the Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. After five and a half seasons with the Lakers, Davis was shipped to Dallas as part of the league-altering Dončić trade.
