1. The Los Angeles Lakers trade for Pau Gasol
Trading for Pau Gasol is so much more important than winning two championships, although that has a huge impact on this ranking as well. The Lakers needed someone to help Kobe Bryant get over the hump and Gasol was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The Lakers went on a roll as soon as they traded for Gasol during the 2008 season. LA finished the season with a 36-9 record after the Gasol trade and parlayed that into an NBA Finals trip. The Lakers ultimately fell short to the Boston Celtics, but it was just the beginning.
The Lakers posted a casual 65-17 record the following season and marched to the NBA Finals to beat the Orlando Magic in five games. The year after that the Lakers were a more modest 57-25 but got their revenge against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals in seven games. Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals is one of, if not the, greatest games in franchise history.
Kobe Bryant may have been the best player on that team and was the MVP but the Lakers do not win those titles without Pau Gasol. But again, it is more than that. Kobe Bryant may have not finished his career with the Lakers if the team does not trade for Gasol.
Lost in history is the fact that Kobe wanted out of LA and was nearly traded to the Chicago Bulls but refused the deal because he wanted to play with Luol Deng and Deng would have come back to LA in the trade.
Pau Gasol was instrumental in the Lakers winning championships no. 15 and 16 but he was also instrumental in making sure that Kobe Bryant would spend the rest of his career in Los Angeles.