Why Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won’t take LeBron James, Lakers lightly in 2nd round

Ahead of their Western Conference semifinals series, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revealed why he isn’t taking future Hall of Fame forward LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers lightly. While playing without Luka Doncic to start the series isn’t ideal against the defending champion, a James-led Lakers squad is still a legitimate threat to the Thunder.

While Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder did sweep the Lakers, 3-0, in their regular-season series, he’s still wary of facing James in the postseason for the first time, he said, per Sports Illustrated’s Rylan Stiles.

“They’re playing really well right now, regardless of who’s out there,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They’re well-coached. LeBron has been in this situation — this level of games — more than anybody else in the NBA. We don’t take them lightly. To make it this far in the season, you can get beaten by anybody on any given night. We know, going into this matchup, we have to take them seriously. We’ve got to put our best foot forward.

“That’s what we’ve been focused on all week, getting better, making sure that we are a better team at the end of this week than we were last week. I think we did so.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on this Lakers matchup pic.twitter.com/hmAWArFytx

— Rylan Stiles (@Rylan_Stiles) May 4, 2026

While Doncic is ruled out for Game 1, his status for the rest of the best-of-7 series remains uncertain. Austin Reaves’ return in the last two games of the Lakers’ first-round series helped them close out the Rockets in Game 6 on the road. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are the only team to finish its opening round with a 4-0 sweep.

Chet Holmgren on LeBron James’ longevity before Thunder series

Thunder All-Star Chet Holmgren gave Lakers’ LeBron James his flowers. In only his third playoff run, Holmgren admires James’ 23-year career, in which he’s still playing at a high level at age 41, further exemplifying his greatness amid the tail end of a legendary career.

“First of all, it’s very impressive. Growing up, I used to play at Life Time a lot. There were a lot of 41-year-olds that weren’t moving too well,” Holmgren said. “I think that’s extremely impressive. Not only the physical ability, but also the mentality to be that focused and locked in for that long period of time.”

The Thunder will host the Lakers in Game 1 at the Paycom Center on Tuesday.

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