NBA Playoffs: What to expect in Thunder-Lakers series

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder face the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the 2026 NBA Playoffs West Semifinals, having swept the Lakers 4-0 in the regular season by an average margin of 29.3 points per game. Lakers stars LeBron James, Luka Dončić, and Austin Reaves played together only once this season, with Dončić sustaining a strained left hamstring and Reaves a strained oblique during an April 2 contest. Reaves recently returned from injury in the first-round series against the Houston Rockets, while Dončić remains questionable for the series against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defending champion Thunder.