Trades are commonplace transactions in many sports. Most of the trades are common, run-of-the-mill deals that help shape a team’s roster. But, from time to time, there are some league-altering trades that shocked the sports world.
Here are the Top 5 Blockbuster Trades in Sports History:
- Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers (2025)
Full Trade
Lakers Get: Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
Mavericks Get: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 1st round pick
Jazz Get: Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 and 2026 2nd round picks
This is the obvious number one selection just because of the heavy presence of stars in the trade. It was very unexpected and blew everyone’s minds. Luka Doncic had just led the Mavericks to the NBA finals and was the star of Dallas. Anthony Davis was very influential in the Lakers teams with Lebron James and has always been a great player for the teams he has played for. It will be exciting to see Lebron and Luka team up and make a very entertaining duo.
2. Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees (1920)
Full Trade
Yankees Get: Babe Ruth
Red Sox Get: $100,000
This will go down as one of the outrageous and lopsided trades ever. The Yankees got one of the best players of all time for practically nothing. A very insane trade, looking at it now and even 75 years ago. The trade itself brought about a curse that lived on for 86 years. The Red Sox did not win a World Series until 2004 after they had last won it in 1918.
3. Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings (1988)
Full Trade
Kings Get: Wayne Gretzky
Oilers Get: Martin Gelinas, Jimmy Carson, 3 first round picks, 15 million dollars, Mike Krushelnyski, and Marty McSorley
Dubbed the “Trade of the Century,” it is not every day you see the greatest player in a sport get traded. Gretzky led the Edmonton Oilers to four Stanley Cup wins, won 49 NHL records and 23 individual awards during his time there. The haul the Oilers got in return speaks for itself, bringing in 4 exceptional players and 3 future players, as well as, fifteen millions dollars. A trade that arguably benefited both teams and was a good deal for all.
4. Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings (1989)
Trade Details
Cowboys Get: LBs Jesse Solomon and David Howard, CB Issiac Holt, and DE Alex Stewart: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks in 1990, 1991, and 1992.
Vikings Get: RB Herschel Walker, picks
Chargers Get: RB Darrin Nelson
The trade is mainly crazy because by the end of 1993 it involved 18 players and 10+ draft picks. But it also included Heisman winner Herschel Walker in the trade as well. At the time of the trade, many thought the Vikings won the trade by getting a player like Walker. As it turns out, the Cowboys used the players and many picks to win three Super Bowls in the 1990s. The Vikings did not make a single Super Bowl appearance with Walker. As for the Chargers addition, Darrin Nelson, he was just a filler so that the trade would work, even though he was a star running back.
5. Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics (2007)
Trade Details
Celtics Get: Kevin Garnett
T-Wolves Get: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash, 2 first round picks
This trade helped the Celtics become a part of the “Superteam” Era of the NBA. The 7-for-1 deal is still the largest number of players dealt for a single player in the NBA’s history. Garnett would later team up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to create one of the many superteams the Celtics had. The Timberwolves would continue their playoff drought after this trade going another decade without playoffs.
Honorable Mention: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett traded to the Brooklyn Nets (2013)
Trade Details
Nets Get: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, D.J. White
Celtics Get: Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Kris Joseph, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans, and first round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018
The lethal duo of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett was moved to Brooklyn and Chaminade graduate Jayson Tatum was selected five years later. The deal was easily won by the Celtics as they got both Tatum and Jaylen Brown while the Nets got two superstars at the start of the twilight of their careers. The duo of Tatum and Brown would bring home another championship to Boston, 16 years after Pierce and Garnett did the same.
