The LA Lakers had been cruising so well since the beginning of the season that people had almost forgotten LeBron James was still out of the squad with sciatica. James hasn’t featured in the Lakers’ 2025-26 campaign yet, despite which the team had managed a 8-3 W/L record in the West. That was, of course, until they came face to face with the defending NBA champions, the OKC Thunder.
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Prior to this game, fans on social media had been arguing about how the team didn’t really need LeBron anymore. The 4-time NBA champion hasn’t signed a contract extension and at 40, is believed to have a foot outside the door already. Besides, with the Lakers clearly putting their weight behind Luka Doncic, aided by Austin Reaves coming into his own, arguments have been made about whether the team is better without LeBron.
All that and more came crashing down earlier this week as the OKC basically bullied the gold and purple nation to a 121-92 victory. It wasn’t just that the Lakers got beaten, the game just showed their championship dreams are just dreams at the moment. There is a huge gap in skill and experience from the top of the table. In light of this, former NBA star Eddie Johnson has argued that the team needs LeBron more than ever.
“All the people out there, saying, ‘Oh, maybe they should trade LeBron. What is LeBron going to do when he comes back?’ Are you freaking kidding me?” a visibly frustrated Johnson said on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“Oklahoma City would pay them not to put LeBron on their team and play what they played last night. Okay? You need him just for that very reason what happened last night. As good as Luka is, they shut him down. He is not going to be able to deal with that. He needs help around him,” Johnson added.
Doncic has already coped his share of criticism over his erratic shot making on the night. The Slovenian star ended the match with 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting; a season low and his worst in the NBA since being traded to the Lakers last season. In contrast, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his rich vein of form, blasting 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
7-time NBA champion Robert Horry, analyzing the game explained that Luka and Shai’s shots were more or less the same but the OKC were just that much better compared to the Lakers’ defense.
Horry also called out Doncic and claimed that while he desperately wants to be that guy, some of his shots were just here, there, and everywhere. While it is his first poor game of the season, Doncic’s performance likely proved the point Johnson was making. Luka might be the star for the future, but he needs a lot of help getting there.
And if the Lakers are to be considered serious championship contenders, they better hope LeBron steps up and takes over on nights the youngsters struggle.
