The Los Angeles Lakers had their playoff run end with being swept in the second round on Tuesday night, falling to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 35-point performance.
Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 27 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists, while LeBron James finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists in the 115-110 loss.
Meanwhile, the third member of Los Angeles’ “Big Three,” Luka Doncic, watched the postseason finish without playing any games due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain he suffered over a month ago.
With the loss, comes all sorts of emotions for those involved, including head coach JJ Redick who spoke about the “disappointing” end to their season.
“I wish we had more time with those guys all in the lineup. We were just beginning to see what that could look like when Luka and AR got hurt and that’s sort of the disappointing part because I think we all felt that excitement and that belief that we were beginning to be a championship level team and would have loved to have seen that group that was finishing the regular season be able to play healthy in the playoffs,” he said in a clip from SportsNet Live.
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The questions that emerge after this Lakers loss are massive, including what the future holds for NBA legend LeBron James.
There is speculation that he might retire after playing 23 seasons, and getting to enjoy being on the court with his son, Bronny James, during regular season and postseason games.
Other speculation suggests LeBron might return next season for a retirement farewell tour, similar to other greats, but it’s unclear if he would stay with the Lakers or join a different team for that.
Then there are questions regarding what will happen with Reaves, who many expect will decline his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 season and become an unrestricted free agent.
It’s also believed he’ll be highly coveted in free agency due to having his best season thus far in 2025-26 for the Lakers. Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Despite suffering a season-ending oblique injury, he returned to the lineup this series against OKC in an attempt to help LeBron and company.
Some feel that the Lakers should let Reaves go this offseason. However, he’s certainly shown his ability to lead the squad when Luka and LeBron were out of the lineup, as well as proven he can be a major boost for the team in playoff games, like last night.
Based on Redick’s comments, the Lakers head coach felt this team had the makings of a championship squad. While that is debateable, if they had Luka playing alongside Reaves and LeBron, they probably would’ve fared better in this second-round series against the defending champs.
Nonetheless, LeBron ends his 23rd season with a sweep, and one has to wonder if he’ll want to try to achieve another championship next season, or retire and enjoy other endeavors.
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