The Oklahoma City Thunder had the Los Angeles Lakers’ number this season. The defending NBA champion Thunder have asserted their dominance across the league, but their excellence against the Lakers was particularly eye-catching.
Oklahoma City went 8-0 against L.A. during the 2025-26 season, including the Thunder’s sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. While point differential doesn’t always tell the whole story, OKC won six of those eight games by at least 18 points.
In the playoffs, the Lakers put up a more competitive fight, except they simply didn’t have enough to combat the Thunder, especially with Luka Dončić still sidelined by his Grade 2 left hamstring strain.
More than a week removed from being swept, a 41-year-old LeBron James called it like it was on his podcast, “Mind the Game.”
“If we being completely honest, we were out-talented,” James told co-host Steve Nash on their latest episode, which was released Thursday. “We were not outworked. They didn’t out-physical us. They didn’t outsmart us.”
James reiterated: “I felt like we were just out-talented by OKC.”
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The Thunder’s roster is dazzling with youth. Their rotation is spearheaded by now-two-time NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren — all of whom are locked up contractually for the long term — and it has enough depth to survive injuries, most notably those suffered by Williams this season.
James’ comments are reflective of what NBA fans saw in the second round. Nonetheless, they’re relevant due to the fact that he’s set to become a free agent this offseason. While Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has repeatedly said the franchise would love to have James finish his career in L.A., the gap between the Lakers and Thunder — and perhaps the San Antonio Spurs as well — could lead James elsewhere.
That is, if he doesn’t retire.
James just played an NBA-record 23rd season. He’ll turn 42 in December. He’s won four NBA championships and four league MVPs. The Akron native is a 22-time All-Star and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He has a laundry list of records, and he still enjoys bolstering that résumé. But he hasn’t decided if he’s coming back for Year 24 yet.
As has been the case in recent years, James is taking his time to make the call on what’s next.
“I haven’t even really thought about it too much,” James said.
“Obviously, I understand that I’m a free agent and I can control my own destiny, [whether it’s] being here with this franchise for the foreseeable future or if it’s going somewhere else. But I haven’t really even gotten to that point.”
James explained that his first order of business is taking his family vacation after Memorial Day. He said that when free agency gets going in July, and maybe even as the calendar turns to August, he’ll get a better picture of what his future looks like.
“If it’s continuing to play the game that I love, which I know I can still give so much to the game and play at a high level, or if it’s not,” he said.
James discussed how, especially now, winning is what keeps him going. If he runs it back again, he wants to have a shot at another championship. He also talked about how family will certainly factor into the conversation. James has relished the opportunity to spend the past two seasons with his eldest son, Bronny, and he noted that his second son, Bryce, will be entering his second season at Arizona this year. His daughter, Zhuri, will be 12 in the fall. She’s mostly grown up in L.A.
“I mean, 1A and 1B is like, what do I feel comfortable doing with my career, but also with my family, how do they feel about whatever decision that I’m able to come up with and make? And that’s a joint decision as well,” James said.
“I give them the insight, both my boys, my daughter and my wife. So it’s 1A and 1B. I don’t think one is higher than the other, whatever the case may be.”
Although James was candid about the separation between the Lakers and the Thunder right now, he had plenty of good things to say about his team’s 2025-26 campaign. Early in Thursday’s episode, he summarized the season and gleaned appreciation of what the group accomplished despite the adversity it faced.
“I have the passion and the admiration to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy up every single year, but I also have a realization of what particular team I have been a part of in that particular year, and understanding this year we fought and we played to the maximum ability of our team,” he said.
A return to the Lakers, another Cleveland Cavaliers reunion, and linking up with Stephen Curry and the Warriors have all been reported as possibilities for James.
If he signs with a team that isn’t the Lakers, that deal, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, would likely come at the $15 million non-tax midlevel or veterans minimum exception.
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