After the Philadelphia 76ers traded Paul George and two first-round draft picks for Jaylen Brown, it officially cemented George as arguably the greatest asset in NBA history.
George has been in the NBA for 15 years this June and has moved across teams and Conferences multiple times in this stretch.
The xx-time All-Star and former MVP finalist has been involved in three blockbuster trades in his career, which highlight his incredible value as an asset.
Paul George’s first trade saw him exchanged for two All-Stars
After a six-year stint with the Pacers, the franchise traded him to the OKC Thunder in 2017 for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Oladipo, at the time, was a high-potential prospect, and Sabonis was one-year removed from being a lottery pick in the NBA Draft.
Oladipo and Sabonis would both develop into All-Stars for the Pacers. While injuries ended Oladipo’s career early, Sabonis wound up being the bridge that landed the franchise their cornerstone, Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pacers would trade Sabonis to the Kings for Haliburton in xxx, ensuring that George’s trade return from 2017 directly led to Indiana returning to the NBA Finals in 2024.
The mega Paul George trade between OKC and the Clippers
George’s two-year stint on the Thunder led to him becoming an MVP-caliber player who would be the primary piece the Clippers required to attract Kawhi Leonard in the free agency of 2019.
The Clippers traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks, and two pick swaps to the Thunder. This essentially created the championship squad we see today, as Shai developed into an MVP.
OKC’s other All-NBA star, Jalen Williams, was also drafted by the pick they received in the George trade, which finally paid out its final pick this summer with OKC’s selection of Aday Mara.
In total, the Clippers traded SGA, Williams, Gallinari, Tre Mann (2021 pick), and Nikola Topic (2024) for George, with one of the two pick swaps not conveying, while some other picks have already been traded for additional assets (Nique Clifford to the Kings for a 2027 pick).
Paul George’s swap for Jaylen Brown rounds out an incredible trade history
The Celtics trading Brown for George and two first-round picks to the Philadelphia 76ers made George among the greatest trade assets in NBA history.
Trading him has directly led to a league MVP (SGA), a Finals MVP (Brown), and All-NBA players (Williams), and multiple high-potential lottery picks such as Topic, Mara, and Thomas Sorber.
In total, George trades have included five players (Brown, SGA, Sabonis, Oladipo, Gallinari), seven first-round picks, four first-round pick swaps, and two second-round picks.
No single player in NBA history can claim to have matched a similar feat. Teams have flipped a single asset into enduring pieces like this, but we’ve never seen one player at the center of so many star trades.
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