Stephen A. Smith Reveals the Only Team LeBron James and the Lakers Can Lose to Without Criticism

Fans weren’t the only ones stunned by the Mavericks’ decision to trade Luka Doncic. The Slovenian superstar cracked his phone when he learnt that he was being shipped off. But in the months since then, the Mavs’ pain has turned into the Lakers’ gain.

LA have emerged as one of the favorites to win the 2025 NBA championship. They were always a team capable of pulling off big things. But now, with Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves leading their charge, they are looking pretty formidable. For sure, there are still plenty of holes in their roster, such as their lack of size in the frontcourt.

Regardless, the Lakers have shown glimpses of how great they can be. The Doncic–LeBron pairing has worked wonders for the purple-and-gold. The combination of their skill and basketball IQ has become a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. At the same time, Doncic’s addition has helped to unleash Austin Reaves, who has played some of his best basketball since the trade deadline.

So much so, that ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith firmly believes that the Lakers can be excused for losing to only one team in the West. The NBA analyst took to ESPN’s First Take to speak on the Lakers ahead of their first-round series against the Timberwolves.

He declared that the top-seeded Thunder as the only team the Lakers would have an excuse to lose to.

“It’s not about giving them a pass, I think OKC is better,” Stephen A. said. “It’s not a negative to the Lakers if they don’t come out of the West. I think if they lose to anybody else, it would be. But losing to OKC? No.”

Oklahoma City is by far the best team in the Western Conference. They dominated the league as a whole en route to a 68-14 record. Despite their youth, many project them to represent the West in the NBA Finals.

Due to their stellar depth led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, talking heads rightfully rate the Thunder above the Lakers as title favorites. Which is why Stephen A. is willing to pardon the Lakers if they were were to lose to them in the postseason.

The only path these two teams have to face each other is in the Western Conference Finals. If the Lakers make it past the first round, they will face the winner of the Rockets-Warriors series. However, they have to focus on their current opponents before thinking about potential future foes. LeBron and co. have a formidable challenge to overcome first: getting past the reigning Western Conference Finalists, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves will be a difficult team to face in the opening round. Minnesota found its groove to conclude the season. They finished their last 21 games with a 17-4 record. Their frontcourt of Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert will keep the Lakers on the hop, given their lack of size.

The Lakers-Timberwolves match-up promises to be a classic NBA duel. Game 1 of their first-round series will be on Saturday, April 19, at 8:30 PM ET.