Lakers vs Thunder Game 1 Preview: Can LA Upset OKC?

Round 2 Begins for Los Angeles

Lakers vs Thunder Game 1 tips off Round 2 of the 2025–2026 NBA playoffs for the Los Angeles Lakers, as they face the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. It’s seen as a tough matchup for Los Angeles, but if anyone can overcome the odds, it would be a team led by LeBron James.

Unexpected First Round Results

Nobody expected the first round to play out how it did. Los Angeles jumped out to a 3–0 lead against a Rockets team that many believed would win the series due to injuries to Dončić and Reaves.

The Rockets nearly fought their way back by winning two straight games, but Los Angeles put the nail in the coffin with a dominant Game 6 win to advance to the second round.

Austin Reaves Returns

Los Angeles dominating Houston wasn’t the only surprise. Austin Reaves returned for Games 5 and 6 and helped the Lakers close out the series.

Reaves averaged 18.5 points, 4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in those games. He didn’t play his best basketball, which was expected after missing a month with an oblique injury, but he still played well and should continue to improve as the series goes on.

Production Without Luka Doncic

Although Luka Dončić will remain sidelined at least to start this series against Oklahoma City, players like Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard have been playing great in his absence.

It’s hard to replace Dončić’s production of 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists per night, but both players have stepped up on both ends of the floor and were key contributors in the first round.

Luka Doncic will be OUT to start the series vs OKC and is being evaluated on a “week to week basis”, per @ShamsCharania.

Game 2 would mark 5 weeks since he got hurt… pic.twitter.com/lAcnyWstAn

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) May 3, 2026

Underdog Role Against Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City is a 15.5-point favorite for tonight’s game. That makes this one of the biggest underdog situations in LeBron James’ career.

The Lakers are +15.5 in Game 1 against the Thunder tonight… that’s the biggest underdog of any game in LeBron’s CAREER 😳 https://t.co/4K2g0UBOmN pic.twitter.com/qXWdZhzTdp

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) May 5, 2026

At 41 years old, he is coming off a six-game series where he averaged close to 39 minutes per game. Now he faces a quick turnaround against the defending champions, potentially without Dončić for the entire series.

Closing Outlook

Although this is a tough matchup for Los Angeles, it’s hard to ever rule out the greatness and experience of one of the best players of all time. Many thought Houston would beat the Lakers in the first round, but LeBron and the team proved otherwise.

A lot of unusual and surprising things have already happened in this year’s NBA playoffs, and if that trend continues, the Lakers could find a way to defy the odds once again and make this series far more competitive than expected.