NBA MVPs Who Were Traded

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 3, 2007

NBA MVPs Who Were Traded

Kevin Garnett

Of the 27 players who have won NBA Most Valuable Player awards, 10 have been traded after winning the honor (Charles Barkley and Steve Nash were dealt before their MVP seasons). The latest addition to the list is Garnett, who is heading to Boston after 12 seasons in Minnesota.

Allen Iverson

Iverson, the first overall pick in 1996, became the face of the Sixers' franchise, winning four NBA scoring titles, the Rookie of the Year award in 1997 and that MVP in 2001. But the circus atmosphere surrounding Iverson was just as productive (or tiresome, depending on your perspective). Finally, Iverson had enough after the Sixers' slow start to the 2006-07 season and asked to be traded. Philly shopped him around for a couple of weeks before settling on a trade with Denver for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two first-round picks.

Shaquille O'Neal

Dealt to Miami for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and two draft picks in July 2004, Shaq won a title in his second season with the Heat. The Lakers haven't advanced past the first round in three seasons since the big fella's departure.

Hakeem Olajuwon

After 17 seasons with the Rockets, during which he won two championships and made 12 All-Star teams, the Dream was shipped to the Raptors in a sign-and-trade for two draft picks in 2001. Olajuwon, 38 at the time of the deal, played only one season in Toronto before a back injury ended his career.

Moses Malone

As a free agent in September 1982, Malone signed an offer sheet with Philadelphia. Houston matched the offer only to trade Malone anyway to the 76ers for big man Caldwell Jones and a first-round pick. Malone went on to win his third MVP award the following season in leading Philadelphia to a 65-17 record and the championship. Houston finished 14-68 and secured the first pick in the 1983 draft, which it used on Ralph Sampson.

Bill Walton

Big Red, who won his MVP with Portland, signed with the Clippers in 1979 and spent six seasons with the franchise before being traded to Boston for forward Cedric Maxwell, a first-round pick and cash in September 1985. Walton served as a role player on the Celtics' 1986 championship team.

Bob McAdoo

McAdoo, the second pick in the 1972 draft, won three consecutive scoring titles with the Boston Braves from 1973-76. But with McAdoo in the final year of his contract in 1976-77, Buffalo traded him during the season to the Knicks for center-forward John Gianelli and cash. McAdoo would be part of two more in-season trades, including one in 1981 that sent him from New Jersey to the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won championships in `82 and `85.

Dave Cowens

The two-time NBA champion had been retired for two years when the Celtics traded him to the Bucks for guard Quinn Buckner in September 1982. Cowens came out of retirement to play for Milwaukee coach and his former Boston teammate Don Nelson, averaging 8.1 points in 40 games before calling it quits for good.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

In one of the all-time biggest trades in team sports, the Lakers acquired Abdul-Jabbar from Milwaukee for center Elmore Smith, guard Brian Winters and forwards Dave Meyers and Junior Bridgeman. While youngsters Meyers, Bridgeman and Winters were productive players for the Bucks, Abdul-Jabbar proceeded to win three more MVPs and was a part of five championship teams with the Lakers.

Oscar Robertson

Robertson was 31 when the Cincinnati Royals traded him to Milwaukee for guard Flynn Robinson and forward Charlie Paulk in April 1970. In his second season with the Bucks, Robertson teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to win a championship. The Royals, meanwhile, became the Kansas City/Omaha Kings in 1972.

Wilt Chamberlain

After spending his first three pro seasons in his native Philadelphia, the Big Dipper and the rest of his Warriors team relocated to San Francisco in 1962. But Chamberlain, the game's most dominating offensive player, returned to Philly on Jan. 15, 1965, as a member of the 76ers (formerly the Syracuse Nationals). In exchange for Chamberlain, the financially strapped Warriors received guard Paul Neumann, center-forward Connie Dierking, forward Lee Shaffer and cash. Chamberlain won three consecutive MVP awards and the 1967 title (over the Warriors) with the 76ers before being dealt to the Lakers.