Top 5 NBA Trades of the 2020s

One of the most fun parts of the

NBA

is its booming trade market. Every season, some of the league’s best players, brightest prospects and most reliable role players switch uniforms after getting traded.

In the modern NBA, a genius trade has been the best way for a good team to establish itself as the league’s best, more than free agency or through the draft.

While there has been a bevy of successful trades in the 2020s, these five acquisitions, in particular, have proved to be the most beneficial.

5

Denver Nuggets Acquire Aaron Gordon

Gordon would go on to excel as a key starter for the title-winning Nuggets

As a member of the

Orlando Magic

,

Aaron Gordon

was best known as a high-flyer whose best moments came in the NBA’s Slam Dunk Competition. Although he lost on both occasions, Gordon engaged in thrilling battles against

Zach LaVine

and

Derrick Jones Jr.

in the 2016 and 2020 dunk contests, respectively.

Gordon was a solid player for a struggling Orlando team but didn’t stand out as a shot-creator.

After the

Denver Nuggets

traded for Gordon at the 2020-21 trade deadline, his role shifted completely. He went from perimeter shot creator to interior play finisher beside passing savant and soon-to-be MVP

Nikola Jokic

.

Together, the frontcourt duo picked apart opposing defenses, as Gordon’s athleticism and physicality around the rim made him the perfect beneficiary of Jokic’s feeds.

Further, Gordon keyed in defensively, leveraging his physical tools to excel as a versatile on-ball stopper.

While Jokic and Gordon suffered playoff exits in their first two seasons together, once star guard

Jamal Murray

returned from injury in the 2022-23 season, everything clicked for the Nuggets. As a complement to the unstoppable Jokic-Murray duo, Gordon played some of the best two-way basketball of his career to help Denver win its first championship.

While this trade is already considered a genius move, it has room to become even more successful as Gordon continues his Nuggets career.

4

Milwaukee Bucks Acquire Jrue Holiday

In his first year in Milwaukee, Holiday starred in a championship run

The franchise was under immense pressure when the

Milwaukee Bucks

traded with the

New Orleans Pelicans

for

Jrue Holiday

in the 2020 offseason.

On the heels of embarrassing playoff exits during

Giannis Antetokounmpo

‘s back-to-back MVP seasons, the Bucks had to make a serious run at the title. If they couldn’t, they would risk wasting, or even losing, their superstar. However, in epic fashion, Holiday helped alleviate these concerns almost immediately.

Already one of the NBA’s most respected guards, the former All-Star brought his shrewd playmaking and stout defense to a core featuring Antetokounmpo,

Khris Middleton

and

Brook Lopez

. He bolstered their elite defense to new heights during his First Team All-Defense campaign and excelled as the offense’s third creator.

During their grueling playoff run, Holiday made some of the franchise’s greatest plays en route to earning his first ring.

Milwaukee would never return to this stage during Holiday’s other two seasons as a member of the Bucks, but his play in the 2020-21 season saved Milwaukee in many ways.

Due to this, their acquisition of Holiday remains one of the most outstanding trades in recent NBA history.

3

Golden State Warriors Acquire Andrew Wiggins

Wiggins turned his career around to become an All-Star on a title-winning team

Andrew Wiggins

had an up-and-down NBA career before the

Golden State Warriors

traded for him.

He came into the league as an esteemed prospect and looked the part rather quickly. After the former first-overall pick earned Rookie of the Year in 2014-15, he took big leaps in his next two seasons, establishing himself as a budding superstar.

However, he then ran into a wall, and his play trailed off the next two seasons. His drives to the rim became less potent as he struggled to round out his game outside of scoring.

On the other hand, the Warriors were in a similar boat.

After five years of dominance, including three championships, Golden State was one of the worst teams in the league in 2019-20. With legendary backcourt members

Stephen Curry

and

Klay Thompson

sidelined due to injury and

Kevin Durant

gone, the Warriors’ dynasty hung in the balance.

To fend off their demise, they traded

D’Angelo Russell

to the

Minnesota Timberwolves

for Wiggins with hopes of revitalizing the former phenom’s NBA career.

While it took a few seasons, Golden State got everything it wanted out of Wiggins and more during the 2021-22 season.

Shockingly becoming an All-Star starter, he starred as a two-way wing, showcasing a never-seen-before aptitude as an elite defender and capable playmaker.

Wiggins shined throughout the Warriors dynasty-extending title run, most notably as the suffocating primary defender of

Luka Dončić

and

Jayson Tatum

in the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals, respectively.

With this incredible play, the Wiggins trade proved to be an elite one.

2

Indiana Pacers Acquire Tyrese Haliburton

Trying to escape mediocrity, Indiana landed a young superstar

While they built around All-Star big man

Domantas Sabonis

, the

Indiana Pacers

weren’t a bad team. They were a postseason regular but struggled to make any proper run at a title.

To escape this cycle of mediocrity, they traded Sabonis to the

Sacramento Kings

for budding second-year guard

Tyrese Haliburton

.

After a very good rookie campaign, Haliburton took another big step in year two, showcasing his skill as an elite playmaker. However, the Kings were already building around star guard

De’Aaron Fox

, so they viewed Sabonis as a better fit.

Almost immediately, Haliburton proved to be exactly the player the Pacers sought.

He quickly rose to standing as one of the league’s best point guards, earning an All-Star bid as a third-year player. In his fourth season, he earned All-NBA merits and led Indiana to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Still just 24 years old, the superstar point guard’s Pacers career is likely only getting started as the team continues to build a championship contender around him.

1

Boston Celtics Acquire Derrick White

Since trading for White, the Celtics have been the NBA’s most dominant franchise

When the

Boston Celtics

traded for

Derrick White

, they were in the midst of struggling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference only a year after suffering a first-round exit.

After they traded for White, they became the NBA’s best team for the rest of the regular season and made a run to the NBA Finals.

Two years later, in 2023-24, they hoisted their 18th championship banner.

Throughout their continued success in recent years, White’s stellar play and steady development have propelled the Celtics to become the NBA’s best team.

Always a great defender, White’s improvement as a shooter with the Celtics has made him into a near-All-Star caliber player.

Complementing the wing dominance of Tatum and

Jaylen Brown

, he has been the most successful point guard the Celtics have had during this era.

The White trade was never thought to be a blockbuster move, but it led to the Celtics becoming the NBA’s top dog, and they don’t seem to be stopping any time soon. White’s best days as a Celtic may still be ahead, making this trade the best of the decade so far.

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