Los Angeles Lakers: Best trade in team history with the Philadelphia 76ers

The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers have been trade partners four times.

In an ongoing series here at Lake Show Life, we have been breaking down the best trades that the Los Angeles Lakers have made with every other team in the NBA. Today, we break down the best trade that the Lakers have made with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Lakers and 76ers have been trade partners four times in the history of the franchises, with the most recent trade being in July of 2018 and the first trade being in July of 1968.

The two teams were also involved together in the massive four-team trade that landed Dwight Howard on the Los Angeles Lakers the first time, which is something that Laker fans probably don’t want to remember.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ best ever trade with the Philadelphia 76ers:

The best trade that the Los Angeles Lakers have ever made with the 76ers is also the first trade that the team made all the way back in 1968. While the Lakers did not land prime Wilt Chamberlain in this deal, they did land someone who is an important pillar of Lakers’ history.

Chamberlain was fresh off of his third consecutive MVP award when he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and while he was never an MVP there, he was a four-time all-star in five seasons and continued to be a presence in his later years.

RELATED: Wilt Chamberlain’s tenure in LA is underrated

Chamberlain averaged a combined 17.7 points and 19.1 rebounds per game as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and had two full seasons in which he averaged over 20 points per game, one of which he also averaged over 20 rebounds as well.

The most important thing that Chamberlain did for the Los Angeles Lakers, though, was that he was the NBA Finals MVP in 1972. This was the only NBA Finals that Jerry West actually won (he was 1-8 in his nine appearances) and Chamberlain led the way.

He averaged 14.7 points and 21 rebounds per game in the playoffs that year while averaging 19.4 points and 23.2 rebounds in the NBA Finals. Laker fans got a peek into the team’s future the round prior as well, as Chamberlain squared off against the future best big-man in team history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

No other trade that the Los Angeles Lakers have ever made with the 76ers even comes close to the impact that Chamberlain had with the Lakers, even if he was past his prime.