Trades and moves: basketball quiz

11 October 2026 · Ten stories of players on the move: famous trades, draft rights and one new passport.

Quiz questions

1. In July 2004, after three titles in Los Angeles, Shaquille O'Neal was traded for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant. Which team did he join?

   • Phoenix Suns
   • Orlando Magic
   • Miami Heat
   • Boston Celtics
   Answer

   In Miami, alongside Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal won his fourth title in 2006.

2. In July 2007 Minnesota traded its franchise player to Boston for Al Jefferson, four other players and two first-round picks. A year later he was an NBA champion. Who was he?

   • Kevin Garnett
   • Ray Allen
   • Paul Pierce
   • Kevin McHale
   Answer

   Kevin Garnett joined Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, who had arrived from Seattle a month earlier, and Boston won the 2008 title. Garnett was also Defensive Player of the Year that season.

3. Phoenix drafted this Serbian guard 27th in 2014 while he stayed in Europe. On draft night 2016 his rights went to Sacramento in the deal for the pick that became Marquese Chriss. He joined the Kings in 2017, fresh from winning the EuroLeague with Fenerbahçe. Who is he?

   • Bojan Bogdanović
   • Bogdan Bogdanović
   • Nemanja Bjelica
   • Nikola Kalinić
   Answer

   Bogdan Bogdanović. For the eighth pick the Kings got the 13th and 28th picks, a future second-rounder and his rights. Not to be confused with Croatia's Bojan Bogdanović.

4. In December 2011 the Hornets agreed to trade Chris Paul to the Lakers in a three-team deal with Houston. What happened next?

   • Paul failed his medical in Los Angeles
   • Paul used a clause in his contract to block it
   • The Lakers pulled out at the last minute
   • The NBA, which owned the Hornets at the time, vetoed it
   Answer

   Commissioner David Stern blocked it, citing 'basketball reasons'. The league owned the Hornets at the time, and days later Paul was traded to the Clippers instead.

5. Days before the 2012-13 season, Oklahoma City traded its Sixth Man of the Year to Houston for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and draft picks. Who was traded?

   • James Harden
   • Serge Ibaka
   • Russell Westbrook
   • Reggie Jackson
   Answer

   James Harden became a superstar in Houston and was MVP in 2018.

6. In 1975 Milwaukee traded Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers. Three of these players went to Milwaukee in that deal. Which one did not?

   • Elmore Smith
   • Brian Winters
   • Junior Bridgeman
   • Jamaal Wilkes
   Answer

   The fourth player who went to Milwaukee was Dave Meyers. Jamaal Wilkes joined the Lakers from Golden State in 1977 and later won titles alongside Kareem.

7. When Memphis sent Pau Gasol to the Lakers in February 2008, it got Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, two first-round picks and the rights to one more player. Who?

   • Rudy Fernández
   • Marc Gasol
   • Víctor Claver
   • Fran Vázquez
   Answer

   They were the rights to Marc Gasol, Pau's younger brother. He became a three-time All-Star in Memphis and stayed there until 2019.

8. An American point guard from the University of New Orleans got a Macedonian passport in 2011 and led Macedonia to fourth place at EuroBasket that year. In the quarter-final in Kaunas Macedonia knocked out the hosts, Lithuania, 67-65. Who was he?

   • Pero Antić
   • Vlado Ilievski
   • Bo McCalebb
   • Todor Gečevski
   Answer

   Bo McCalebb. Bo McCalebb created the chance and Vlado Ilievski hit the winning three with 11 seconds left. Macedonia then lost the semi-final to Spain and the bronze game to Russia.

9. In July 1968 the Lakers got Wilt Chamberlain for Darrall Imhoff, Archie Clark and Jerry Chambers. Which team traded him?

   • Philadelphia 76ers
   • San Francisco Warriors
   • Boston Celtics
   • Cincinnati Royals
   Answer

   Chamberlain had won the 1967 title with Philadelphia. It was his second trade: the Warriors had sent him to the 76ers in 1965.

10. Name the player from his clubs.

    • Predrag Danilović
    • Aleksandar Đorđević
    • Dejan Bodiroga
    • Željko Rebrača
    Answer

    Dejan Bodiroga won the EuroLeague with Panathinaikos in 2000 and 2002 and with Barcelona in 2003, and was Final Four MVP in 2002 and 2003. Sacramento drafted him in 1995, but he never went to the NBA.

Previous quiz: The Greece national team (10 October 2026)

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