Just 10 months ago, Luka Dončić was the face of the Mavericks’ franchise. At 25 years old, he was arguably the most talented offensive player in the NBA and had just led Dallas to the Finals the season prior. Surely, Dončić would sign a supermax contract with the Mavericks in the offseason and be the face of the franchise for the next decade-plus.
Right?
Wrong. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison stunned the entire sports world by trading the superstar Dončić to the Lakers late in the night of Feb. 1, 2025. Ten months later, on Black Friday, Dončić and the Lakers host the Mavericks at Crypto.com Arena for the first time since Harrison was fired—in large part for his Dončić decision.
The Dončić trade is definitely the most shocking in NBA history. But is it the worst? Let’s take a look:
5. Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Lakers
Lakers receive: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Walt Wesley
Bucks receive: Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Junior Bridgeman, Dave Meyers
The Bucks didn’t have much of a choice but to trade Abdul-Jabbar in 1975.
During a rough 1974–75 season in which Milwaukee went 38–44 and missed the playoffs, Abdul-Jabbar requested a trade. He wanted a fresh start in a new city.
“I don’t have any family or friends in Milwaukee,” he said at the time, via the. “Milwaukee is not the kind of city I’m about. I’m not knocking it or the people. It’s just that socially and culturally I don’t fit in Milwaukee.”
Milwaukee traded Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for four players. Two of those four ended up getting their jerseys retired by the Bucks—Bridgeman (No. 2) and Winters (No. 32), but the organization never reached the heights it did with Abdul-Jabbar, winning the 1971 NBA championship. Meanwhile, Abdul-Jabbar won three MVP awards and five NBA titles in Los Angeles and finished his career as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer,
4. Hornets part ways with Kobe Bryant on draft night
Lakers receive: Kobe Bryant
Hornets receive: Vlade Divac
Charlotte selected Bryant, a 17-year-old high schooler out of Philadelphia, with the No. 13 pick of the 1996 draft. Later that night, they traded him to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac, a solid 7' 1" Serbian center who was entering his eighth NBA season.
Divac spent two years in Charlotte before leaving for the Kings in free agency in 1999. Bryant, of course, developed into one of the greatest players and scorers in basketball history.
Much has been reported and speculated about this trade over the last 30 years. Leading up to the 1996 draft, Bryant refused to workout for some NBA teams, and he even threatened to play overseas in Italy if he landed somewhere he didn’t want to play—a list that reportedly included Charlotte.
But according to the late Bryant, the Hornets made clear to him that they did not plan to keep him.
No matter what transpired between Bryant and the Hornets, it was a bad, bad trade.
3. Warriors send Wilt Chamberlain to 76ers
76ers receive: Wilt Chamberlain
Warriors receive: Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, $150,000 cash
Chamberlain starred for the Warriors for three years in Philadelphia before the franchise moved to the Bay Area in 1962. But after two-and-a-half years in San Francisco, Chamberlain was traded back to Philadelphia—this time to play for the 76ers.
The Warriors, facing financial troubles, sent “The Big Dipper” in exchange for three players and cash. Chamberlain went on to win three straight MVP awards from 1965 to ‘68 and led
Philadelphia to the 1967 title.
Meanwhile, Neumann was out of the NBA by the time he turned 30 years old, Dierking played just 30 games for the Warriors and Shaffer retired from basketball following the trade.
Woof.
2. Mavs shockingly trade superstar Luka Dončić to Lakers
Lakers receive: Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
Mavericks receive: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 Lakers first-round pick
Jazz receive: Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 Clippers second-round pick, 2025 Mavericks second-round pick
Late in the night on Feb. 1, 2025, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison did the unthinkable.
In a move that many people involved did not believe was real at the time it was reported, the Mavericks traded Dončić and two other players to the Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a first-round pick.
Dončić, 25 years old at the time of the trade, was a five-time All-Star and the second-best player in Mavericks history behind Dirk Nowitzki. He led Dallas to the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals in ‘24, where the Mavericks lost in five games to the Celtics.
At the time, it was reported that the Mavericks moved on from Dončić for a couple of reasons: They were concerned about his conditioning issues and committing to another supermax contract extension, which he would’ve been able to sign in the offseason. Instead of saving the franchise from a contract extension he feared would age poorly, Harrison lost the Mavericks’ fan base. Even after getting lucky in the following draft lottery and taking Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 pick, Dallas fans chanted for Harrison’s firing until it finally happened 11 games into the 2025-26 season.
In the end, trading Dončić was a move that cost Harrison his job. But at this point, it’s not quite the worst trade in NBA history. That belongs to …
1. Nets send Julius Erving to 76ers for cash
Nets receive: $3 million
76ers receive: Julius Erving
When the New York Nets joined the NBA in 1976, Erving was already a star. He was a three-time MVP of the ABA and had led the Nets to two championships in the last three years.
Nets owner Roy Boe was struggling financially during the ABA/NBA merger and was determined to restructure Erving’s contract, which was valued at around $300,000 per year. He ended up trading Erving to the 76ers for $3 million to cover the Nets’ expansion fee.
The Nets moved to New Jersey the following year and didn’t finish above .500 for another six seasons. Erving spent the rest of his career in Philadelphia, winning the 1980–81 MVP award and leading the Sixers to their second NBA championship in franchise history in 1983.
Perhaps an even worse decision during this saga was made by the Knicks. In addition to the expansion fee, the Knicks demanded the Nets pay them $4.8 million upon arriving to the NBA for infringing on their market in the New York area, so the Nets offered them Erving in exchange to waive the fee. The Knicks declined, and still haven’t won a championship since 1973.
