Feb. 10, 2026, 3:00 p.m. CT
Trying to survive a five-game stretch without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up a badly-needed 119-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Jalen Williams came in to play hero as he scored 23 points and sprinkled in clutch-time buckets.
Despite juggling injuries all season, the Thunder have sat atop the NBA standings all season. The reigning NBA champions have looked primed to go back-to-back, despite some recent bumps on the road. If they can get fully healthy, expect them to be the odds-on favorite.
That’s something the Lakers are still eons away from. LeBron James said as much after the loss. Los Angeles has had another up-and-down season. Even if the offense can get fun with Luka Doncic putting up MVP-esque numbers, the defensive personnel being dull caps their ceiling.
When asked to describe the difference between the two squads, James noted OKC’s constant energy. The 41-year-old has been on his fair share of title contenders. So he knows when to spot one from a distance.
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there and we’re not, James said. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
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That’s a pretty brutal assessment. But hard to blame James. The Thunder are sitting on the NBA throne for a reason. They’ve had the league-best defense for two straight seasons now. OKC’s philosophy is to swarm at the ball and protect all three levels of the floor with high-end defenders across the entire roster.
Meanwhile, the Lakers haven’t had real playoff success since The Bubble all the way back in 2020. We’ll see how the rest of the season plays out, but Los Angeles has shown you all year it’s a decent squad whose advanced metrics suggest it’s playing above its head with its record.