LeBron James previews Thunder ahead of 2026 NBA playoff series

Being penciled in for about a week, things became official on Friday. The Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Los Angeles Lakers in Round 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs. And for the first time since 2012, LeBron James will be in OKC for postseason basketball.

The Thunder completed another Round 1 sweep with a Game 4 win over the Phoenix Suns this past Monday. Since then, the reigning NBA champions have been chilling. Jalen Williams has been given ample time to return from a hamstring strain.

Meanwhile, the Lakers avoided catastrophe. After going up 3-0 in their Round 1 series, they eventually closed things out on the road with a Game 6 win over the Houston Rockets . They did so without Luka Doncic . He remains out with a hamstring strain and will likely miss the start of their Round 2 matchup.

That means the Lakers' long-shot hopes fall on James' shoulders. Not fair to expect a 41-year-old to carry you into NBA playoff wins over the title favorites, but that's the reality of the situation. He was Los Angeles ' best player in their Round 1 win over the Rockets. But the competition level is completely different.

James talked about the Thunder moments after their Game 6 win. He told the Amazon Prime crew what to expect from the reigning NBA champions. OKC swept the four-game regular season series with an eye-popping plus-117 point differential. About as one-sided as things could get.

“Obviously, we’re playing against the defending champions. So my early scout, we’ll get into it in a couple of days, but obviously, it’s the defending champ," James said. "One thing you have to do is to protect the ball versus those guys. They play physical handsy in defense. If you allow them to get a lot of pick-sixes and just ignite their own court. It ignites their team."

The Thunder own the league-best defense. Not only did they get traditional stops, but they've turned into a turnover-creating machine. Once the opposition starts coughing up the ball every other possession, OKC balloons its lead with a tsunami scoring run.

Of course, James also singled out Shai Gilgeous-Alexander . He's set to win another MVP award. Only a handful of players all-time can say that. If the Thunder go back-to-back, it's because his 30-point supernova scoring remains sizzling. That should be the case with the Lakers, who don't really have the personnel to slow him down.

"Obviously, we know the head of the snake. Possible back-to-back MVP for SGA. We will scout them. They’re a really well-equipped team. It’s not just SGA. We know he’s the head honcho," James said. "But it triples down from the starting lineup to the bench. We have a full plate once again, but we’ll be ready for the challenge."

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: LeBron James previews Thunder ahead of 2026 NBA playoff series