Magic Johnson recently took to X to lay out the stakes for the upcoming Lakers-Warriors game. The matchup is one that Magic’s Lakers have owned up to this point in the season. Furthermore, he’s excited to see how the game impacts the Western Conference seeding implications. It has the makings for an enticing game given the history between LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
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The Lakers and Warriors will be matching up tomorrow night on TNT for the fourth and final time this season. It’s a matchup that LeBron James and the Lakers have dominated so far. They’ve won all three contests, albeit by single digits each time. However, the two haven’t met since the Warriors revamped their roster and traded for Jimmy Butler. Since then, the Dubs have gone 19-5.
Magic being ecstatic to witness this showdown makes sense. He highlighted the LeBron vs. Steph Curry matchup while highlighting the ‘dire consequences’ of what would take place if either would lose.
I’m so excited to watch LeBron vs. Steph tomorrow when the Warriors take on my Lakers in a must-win game for both teams with seeding implications on the line!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 2, 2025
If Magic’s Lakers were to win, they could leap into the three seed ahead of the Denver Nuggets, while the Warriors would be tied with the sixth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. The Dubs however, have the season series won against the Grizz which helps them in the case of a tiebreaker.
But, if the Warriors can get the dub tomorrow night, they’ll be just one game behind the Lakers for the fourth seed. Either way, both squads might match up in the first round of the playoffs, which would be thrilling.
In 2023, we saw the Lakers and Warriors meet up in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Lakers ended up winning that series in six games, and even had a 3-1 lead at one point. So it would be an opportunity for Steph to get his revenge in a rematch of sorts if they were to meet in the first round of the upcoming playoffs.
However, despite Magic’s wishes, we have to recognize how volatile the West is currently. Of course, the Oklahoma City Thunder have dominated in a season that has been historic. They own a 14.5-game lead on the second-place team in the West, the Houston Rockets. But after that, the 2-10 seeds are all still up for grabs.
It’s possible that Magic’s Lakers and the Warriors could meet in the Western Conference Finals this season if one of them can get the best of OKC. The Warriors have split the regular season series with the aforementioned threat. But we’ve only seen the Lakers play them once in an NBA Cup game that saw Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder get the best of them.
From a viewership perspective, a series between Steph and LeBron in the playoffs would be incredible. It would reignite an old rivalry flame that has been on the verge of dying out. Also, given that the NBA ratings are supposedly down this season, Silver must be wishing for this series to occur. And so is Magic Johnson.
