Coming into the 2025-26 NBA regular season, there were a lot of questions about the new-look Los Angeles Lakers and whether the storied franchise would be able to compete with the best of the best in the Western Conference, like the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant-led Houston Rockets, and Nikola Jokić’s Denver Nuggets.
On Tuesday, the Lakers won their fifth straight game, taking down Kawhi Leonard’s Los Angeles Clippers in an NBA Cup matchup. It improved the team’s record in the tournament to 3-0, clinching West Group B and resulting in the team’s 13th win of the 2025-26 campaign, a win total achieved by only five teams in the league so far. (Thunder, Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Toronto Raptors).
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NBA Legend Not Convinced Lakers Are a Title Contender
Despite the Lakers being one of the hottest teams in the league right now, with superstar guard Luka Dončić looking like a legitimate candidate for NBA MVP as the league’s current leading scorer, not everyone is convinced that Los Angeles has what it takes to compete with the Thunder or the Denver Nuggets in the NBA playoffs.
Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady didn’t hold back on the Lakers’ chances of competing with the elite squads in the West when the postseason rolls around, via the Oh No He Didn’t X account. He said, “If you look at this roster constructed, what did you see on this bench that can give you consistency in a 7 game series against OKC or Denver?”
T-Mac on the Lakers:
“If you look at this roster constructed, what did you see on this bench that can give you consistency in a 7 game series against OKC or Denver?” pic.twitter.com/JrZezMY8xm
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) November 26, 2025
With only 17 games in the books so far for the Lakers, it is easy to claim that JJ Redick’s squad might not be able to hold its own against the Thunder or Nuggets in a seven-game series during the playoffs.
However, a lot can change over the course of an 82-game season, as injuries can take a toll and slumps can happen even for the most talented teams in the NBA.
There’s far too much basketball left to be played to make an honest assessment of how teams in the league will hold up in the NBA playoffs, as so much can change from now until April.
In the meantime, the Lakers will try to keep their doubters at bay while exceeding expectations with Dončić leading the way and seemingly looking like a player who could be the league MVP when it is all said and done.