Best Sports Trades of All-Time

5. LeBron James Leaves Cleveland and then Returns Again

NBA fans agree that Michael Jordan and LeBron James are the GOATs of the sport. In 2003 LeBron James was playing for his home team straight out of high school, he was living the dream. But fast-forward seven seasons later, he grew demoralised at not being able to win an NBA title for his home city of Cleveland. So, in 2010, he switched to Miami Heat where he was crowned NBA champion twice.
Cleveland fans weren’t happy but in 2014 he decided to return to his boyhood side. His return was a successful one too and he led the Cavaliers to two NBA Finals trophies.

4. Brett Favre Joins Breen Bay Packers from the Atlanta Falcons

After having finished his rookie year with the Atlanta Falcons, it was the Green Bay Packers who swooped in to take the quarterback for themselves. Following the trade, Favre would go on to play for 16 seasons with The Packers, playing in every single game whilst winning a plethora of individual awards as well as one Super Bowl with Green Bay.
It goes without saying that Favre would never have to buy a drink for himself again in any Wisconsin bar, given his legendary status. However, following his move to bitter Packers rivals - the Minnesota Viking’s - he may have to fork out some cash these days if he plans on having a drink in Wisconsin!

3. Kevin Garnett Goes from White to Green

From 1995 when the Minnesota Timberwolves picked Kevin Garnett out of high school, the NBA player became one of the game’s biggest stars and was beloved by Timberwolves fans. But after 12 years, one of the most shocking trades in NBA history occurred.
In 2007, Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics and if that wasn’t enough for the Timberwolves fans, Garnett won the NBA Finals in his first year with his new team.

2. Wayne Gretzky Crosses the Border

Even now in 2021, the name Wayne Gretzky is as synonymous with Ice Hockey as the name Lionel Messi is to soccer. After spending 10 years with the Edmonton Oilers in Canada and shaping how Ice Hockey would be played for decades to come, Gretzky was told that he would be traded to the Los Angeles Kings in a $15 million deal known as “The Trade”.
Despite the animosity of his Canadian fans, if it was not for the Gretzky trade, Ice Hockey may never have seen the growth in popularity in the United States which it enjoys today.

1. Boston Red Sox Sell Babe Ruth

Imagine selling the greatest baseball player of all time to fund a Broadway musical. Well, that’s exactly what the Boston Red Sox did in 1920. Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 to finance the musical “No, No, Nanette.”
Following the deal, the Red Sox had to wait 86 years before they won another world series in what was dubbed the “Curse of the Bambino.” On the other hand, Babe Ruth led the Yankees to seven World Series finals and four titles.