The 2018 offseason has transformed the face of the NBA for the first time in years with some drastic changes.

Two of the NBA's best players have changed teams, one player has stayed put despite saying he wanted to be somewhere else the year before, and another surprised us all by signing a deal with a team completely out of the blue.

The adjusts will alter which teams are dominating in both the Eastern and the Western Conference for 2018-19 at least, but possibly for seasons to come as well.

Here are five of the most game-changing moves of the 2018 NBA offseason so far.

LeBron James moves to the Lakers

The biggest move of the offseason has to be LeBron James moving to the Los Angeles Lakers. While most of us saw it coming for over a year, it was still a game-changer in the league.

LeBron's presence at the Lakers has automatically made the team a championship contender and a true threat to dethrone the Golden State Warriors and their Western Conference dominance, ending the Lakers' five-year playoff drought in the process.

His departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers has ended their rule in the Eastern Conference as well, opening up for the likes of the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Toronto Raptors.

Paul George stays with the Thunder

When Paul George said he wouldn't be re-signing with the Indiana Pacers and he expressed his desire to play for the Lakers, many thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would just be a stop on the road. How wrong we were.

The Thunder would have taken a huge step back if they had lost George this offseason. Now they have managed to retain him though, they should be able to put their first-round playoff elimination behind them quickly and be a top team in the West.

DeMarcus Cousins signs with the Warriors

DeMarcus Cousins is coming off an Achilles injury and isn't getting any longer, so nobody expected him to sign a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, but yet he did.

This is a risk, not only for Cousins but for the Warriors themselves. He likely will be out until January next year, but when he returns, Golden State could be unstoppable and on track to win their third championship in a row.

Kawhi Leonard is traded to the Raptors

The Raptors were the number one seed in the East last season, and the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard via trade this offseason will keep them near the top of the conference. The San Antonio Spurs were still able to stay competitive too as they received DeMar DeRozan in return.

While he isn't on the same level as LeBron, he's still a superstar who can still change a game in an instant in the East. Now it's just a case of the Raptors trying to convince him to stay put and sign a new deal before next summer arrives. 

Trevor Ariza signs with the Suns

Ariza was one of the best 2-way forwards in the West last season, so the Phoenix Suns have acquired an important player at the expense of the Houston Rockets. It will definitely hurt their chances of being one of the top two teams in the West, especially with the arrival of LeBron too.

As for the Suns, they've added a great player to their defense which was one of the worst across the entire NBA last season. If they're able to get things going, they could sneak themselves into the playoffs.

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