The Athletic provides live coverage of Lakers vs. Thunder in the 2026 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have dominated the Los Angeles Lakers. Now comes the part that has to matter.
Thunder’s Dominance Over the Lakers
The reigning champion Thunder enter the second round as the standard in the Western Conference, backed by a league-best regular-season record of 64-18 and a first-round sweep. The Lakers handled the Rockets in six games, but not without cracks. There was uneven shot-making, turnover issues and a roster still adjusting to life without Luka Dončić. There’s enough shot-making to stay competitive, especially with LeBron James and Austin Reaves now back, but far less certainty about how it holds up over the series.
The Thunder have defeated the Lakers five straight times, including a four-game regular-season series sweep this year. The Lakers lost five games this season by at least 25 points, and three of them were against the Thunder.
The past doesn’t determine this series, but it makes the challenge unavoidable.
Lakers’ Offensive Strategy Against Thunder’s Defence
The Lakers had the eighth-best offence in the NBA after the All-Star break, but the Thunder had the league’s best defence all season. There’s a path to success for the Lakers offensively, and it comes down to the 3-point line. Oklahoma City will permit 3s, and that’s a gamble against a Lakers team that does not generate a high volume of 3s but is quite accurate when it does find them.
Re-integrating Reaves into the lineup matters here. The Lakers need him to be a factor with foul-drawing abilities, and they need James to be decisive as a driver as well while Dončić is out. The Lakers should put Marcus Smart in the corner as much as possible if Smart doesn’t have the ball in his hands; the difference between Smart as a corner 3-point shooter and Smart as a threat above-the-break is vast.
Key Players and Defensive Matchups
How the Thunder choose to use primary perimeter defender Luguentz Dort will be interesting, as Dort would usually be assigned to Dončić. Luke Kennard has been something of a revelation; how his aggression changes with Reaves back is something to watch. Kennard’s accuracy is great, but his willingness and ability to produce volume have always been a bigger challenge.
As long as Dončić is out, a key shooter in this series for the Lakers will be Rui Hachimura, especially from the midrange. Shots will be available to the Lakers; the only question offensively is whether they can make enough of them.
The reason why those shots will be available to the Lakers is that the Thunder have an impenetrable interior defense. Between Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder have some of the best rim protection in basketball. Combine that with the Lakers’ reluctance to crash the offensive glass, an