It seems right for the NBA’s seminal superstar to go against the incumbent champions. A second-round playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder commands a massive audience, and it also prompts some urgent questions.
Can OKC stay atop its perch and pull off back-to-back title runs? Can anyone on the planet slow down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? And when will Jalen Williams make it back from a Grade 1 hamstring strain?
What about the Lakers — do they have the juice to mount a colossal upset? Might this be our last looks at LeBron James, who is 41 years old and has played more minutes than anyone in league history? Is there any chance we see Luka Dončić, still recovering from his fateful Grade 2 hamstring strain?
Answers will reveal themselves in the days to come. Here’s how to watch this anticipated second-round tangle unfold. The schedule below will be updated should possible Games 5-7 come up.
How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers
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1: @ OKC
Tue., May 5
8:30 p.m.
NBC
Peacock
2: @ OKC
Thu., May 7
9:30 p.m.
Prime Video
Prime Video
3: @ LA
Sat., May 9
8:30 p.m.
ABC
4: @ LA
Mon., May 11
10:30 p.m.
Prime Video
Prime Video
5*: @ OKC
Wed., May 13
TBD
TBD
TBD
6*: @ LA
Sat., May 16
TBD
TBD
TBD
7*: @ OKC
Mon., May 18
TBD
TBD
TBD
* if necessary
ABC and NBC are free over the air. ABC is also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
How the Thunder got here
Oklahoma City got here by turbo-engine bulldozer. After they won the 2025 title in a stirring seven-game series, the Thunder launched a spirited championship defense that stretched across the entire regular season — 64-18 with the best net rating in the NBA.
The Thunder opened these playoffs with their third consecutive first-round sweep, this time at the expense of the Phoenix Suns. Mark Daigneault coached his squad up to produce swarming on-ball pressure and merciless, automatic scoring. Six Thunder players averaged at least one steal, and the defense as a whole forced 64 turnovers (16 per game).
On the other end, Gilgeous-Alexander was preposterously good — he finished with a playoff career-high 42 points in Game 3, and did so on 15-of-18 from the floor. The only other players to match that efficiency and volume in a postseason game are Sam Jones in 1967 and Michael Jordan in 1991.
Gilgeous-Alexander ended the first-round series with 33.8 points and eight assists per game, at 55.1 percent shooting. Elastic center Chet Holmgren topped 17 points on better than 59 percent from the field, and he averaged two blocks as OKC’s primary rim protector. Fellow 7-footer Isaiah Hartenstein brought down 4.5 offensive rebounds per contest. Luguentz Dort, Ajay Mitchell, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace all played their roles as perimeter pests.
The lone blemish came in Game 2, when Williams left with hamstring pain and did return for the series. The two-way star was ruled out for Game 1 against the Lakers. It’s a tough blow for such high-leverage basketball, but even without him, the Thunder rotation is uniquely deep and versatile.
How the Lakers got here
Los Angeles began its playoff push with lowered expectations and muted vibes. The Lakers went 53-29 during the regular season, their most wins since 2010-11. But they looked to be outmatched as both Dončić and Austin Reaves were on ice.
Despite its lack of depth, L.A. jumped out to a 3-0 series lead versus the Houston Rockets. Luke Kennard was the Game 1 hero with 27 points, and James uncorked a vintage Game 2 performance that included a roof-raising reverse jam.
The Lakers went to Houston and fell behind in Game 3, only to storm back in the closing minute. Marcus Smart came up with a steal and drew three foul shots, turning a 6-point hole to a one-possession affair. And then a second steal gave James a contested look at a game-tying trey. The league’s all-time leading scorer pumped, let it fly and found the bottom of the net. The Lakers hung on for a gutsy overtime win.
There was cause for concern as a 3-0 lead whittled down to 3-2, but the purple and gold closed out with a 20-point Game 6 clincher. Reaves returned to the court in Game 5, and he had a rust-shedding 7-for-14 outing (plus a surprising three blocks) in the closeout.
For the series, James’ posted averages of 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists. He did struggle with turnovers at 4.3 per game, but his playmaking load lightened a bit with Reaves back in tow.
Rui Hachimura went white hot from beyond the arc at 58.6 percent, while Smart was at 44.8 percent and Kennard at 41.7. The pugnacious Smart was also second to the Orlando Magic’s Franz Wagner with 2.7 steals per game throughout the first round. It was a quieter offensive series for lightning-rod center Deandre Ayton, but he did average 3.5 offensive boards.
Dončić starts the series against the Thunder on the shelf, and his timeline for return remains shrouded. It’s another wrinkle to be managed by JJ Redick, who just won his first playoff series as a head coach.
James and his Lake Show castmates will do all they can to upend the NBA’s budding dynasty. At worst, this series presents another playoff showcase for a hooper who defines his era. Anything more would make an interesting postseason all the wilder.
Head-to-head matchups this season
Oklahoma City won the regular-season series 4-0. All but one of those matchups were intensely lopsided.
The Thunder won on Nov. 12, a 121-92 home beatdown spurred by their defense’s 20 takeaways. James didn’t play in that one, but Dončić was limited to 7-for-20 shooting and Reaves went just 4-of-12. OKC scooped up a 9-point W in L.A. on Feb. 9. Neither Dončić nor Gilgeous-Alexander was available, but the visitors were buoyed by three double-digit scorers off the bench (Caruso, Isaiah Joe and Jaylin Williams).
Then came the portentous third meeting on April 2. Already getting blown out on the road, the Lakers wound up losing Dončić to his hamstring injury — and Reaves to an oblique strain. The two teams had a fourth faceoff just five days later in Los Angeles, and the Thunder cruised against a Laker lineup without Dončić, Reaves and James.
Thunder vs. Lakers playoff history
Oklahoma City and L.A. are tied 1-1. These sides met often in the days of the Seattle SuperSonics, OKC’s franchise predecessor. But there have only been a pair of series between the Thunder and Lakers, and they happened within a two-year span.
Los Angeles won a first-round bout in 2010, en route to an NBA championship. That draw was closer than anticipated — it went six games, three of which were settled by 5 or fewer points. And Game 6 almost turned into a Game 7, until Pau Gasol’s series-winning put-back with less than a second on the clock. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 23.5 points per game.
The Thunder struck for revenge in 2012’s conference semifinal. It was a five-game series, but three of them were decided by a single possession. In a memorable early triumph for the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook outfit, OKC erased a 7-point deficit in the last two minutes of Game 2. Durant averaged 26.8 points in that series, while Westbrook scored 25.6 per game and James Harden added 16 off the bench. Oklahoma City went on to its first-ever NBA Finals in 2012, then fell to LeBron’s Miami Heat.
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