Being penciled in for a few week, issues turned official on Friday. The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs. And for the primary time since 2012, LeBron James can be in OKC for postseason basketball.
The Thunder accomplished one other Round 1 sweep with a Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns this previous Monday. Since then, the reigning NBA champions have been chilling. Jalen Williams has been given ample time to return from a hamstring pressure.
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Meanwhile, the Lakers averted disaster. After going up 3-0 of their Round 1 series, they ultimately closed issues out on the street with a Game 6 win over the Houston Rockets. They did so with out Luka Doncic. He stays out with a hamstring pressure and can seemingly miss the beginning of their Round 2 matchup.
That means the Lakers’ long-shot hopes fall on James’ shoulders. Not truthful to anticipate a 41-year-old to hold you into NBA playoff wins over the title favorites, however that is the truth of the state of affairs. He was Los Angeles‘ finest participant of their Round 1 win over the Rockets. But the competitors stage is totally completely different.
James talked in regards to the Thunder moments after their Game 6 win. He informed the Amazon Prime crew what to anticipate from the reigning NBA champions. OKC swept the four-game common season series with an eye-popping plus-117 level differential. About as one-sided as issues may get.
“Obviously, we’re enjoying towards the defending champions. So my early scout, we’ll get into it in a pair of days, however clearly, it’s the defending champ,” James said. “One factor you need to do is to guard the ball versus these guys. They play bodily handsy in protection. If you permit them to get quite a bit of pick-sixes and simply ignite their very own court docket. It ignites their workforce.”
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The Thunder personal the league-best protection. Not solely did they get conventional stops, however they’ve become a turnover-creating machine. Once the opposition begins coughing up the ball each different possession, OKC balloons its lead with a tsunami scoring run.
Of course, James additionally singled out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He’s set to win one other MVP award. Only a handful of gamers all-time can say that. If the Thunder go back-to-back, it is as a result of his 30-point supernova scoring stays scorching. That must be the case with the Lakers, who do not actually have the personnel to gradual him down.
“Obviously, we all know the pinnacle of the snake. Possible back-to-back MVP for SGA. We will scout them. They’re a very well-equipped workforce. It’s not simply SGA. We know he’s the pinnacle honcho,” James said. “But it triples down from the beginning lineup to the bench. We have a full plate as soon as once more, however we’ll be prepared for the problem.”
This article initially appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: LeBron James previews Thunder ahead of 2026 NBA playoff series