8 NBA MVPs who won a championship after getting traded
With his trade to the LA Lakers, Russell Westbrook is set to become the first NBA MVP to be traded in three consecutive offseasons, as the LA Lakers have reportedly agreed on terms with the Washington Wizards for the blockbuster deal.
Westbrook's arrival now forms a 'Big Three' in LA alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the dynamic duo that won the 2020 NBA championship. The three superstars played together briefly when all three were members of the USA men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.
NBA MVPs who won a title after being traded
Whether Westbrook will care about being traded for three straight offseasons should probably not be a debate, as his attitude towards criticism is quite firm.
Moreover, if the LA Lakers win the NBA championship, which would be Westbrook's first, then all the talk about this trade will certainly turn to the positive side instead of anything else.
'Russ' is definitely not the first NBA MVP to be traded in league history, and if the LA Lakers complete their main task with him, he'll not be the first MVP to reach his goal after a trade either.
In this article, we will take a look at the eight instances when an NBA MVP award winner got traded and eventually won an NBA championship.
Without further ado, let us start.
#1 Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain won the first of his four regular-season MVPs in his rookie campaign, the 1959-60 season. With the Philadelphia Warriors, Chamberlain certainly had his greatest individual years, putting up all kinds of scoring records, including his 100-point game and his average of 50.4 points per game in the 1961-62 season.
The team then relocated to San Francisco, and after two and a half years, he was traded back to his hometown, this time to play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
He joined the Sixers in 1965 and won his first NBA championship in 1967. On July 1968, Chamberlain was sent to the LA Lakers and he won another championship after being traded, this time winning it all in 1972 and taking the Finals MVP award honors.
#2 Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson started his unique NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals in 1960. After 10 years with the franchise and a regular-season MVP in the 1963-64 season, Robertson was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in 1970.
The move paid off immediately for 'The Big O' and the Milwaukee Bucks, as he teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to dominate the 1970-71 NBA season and win the Bucks' first title in franchise history.
He then appeared in the 1974 NBA Finals with the Bucks before retiring from the NBA.
#3 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won an NBA championship, the regular-season MVP and the Finals MVP in his sophomore year with the Milwaukee Bucks. After another appearance in the NBA Finals and two other MVPs, Kareem was sent to the LA Lakers in 1975.
The move paid off for him five years later, as he won the NBA championship with the LA Lakers in 1980, after taking three more MVPs since arriving in LA. Abdul-Jabbar ended his career as the all-time leader in regular-season MVPs and won six championships in his career (five after the trade to the Lakers).
#4 Bob McAdoo
Bob McAdoo started off his NBA career with an incredible ability to score, and it earned the Buffalo Braves' forward the 1974-75 NBA MVP award.
He was traded to the New York Knicks in 1976, then to the Boston Celtics in 1979 and to the Detroit Pistons that same year. McAdoo signed with the New Jersey Nets in 1981 after the Pistons waived him, and the Nets traded him to the LA Lakers in December 1981.
With the LA Lakers, McAdoo took on the sixth man role and won two NBA championships with the 'Showtime' LA Lakers, alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.