Even though the Los Angeles Lakers fought hard every night, in the end they simply didn’t have enough to keep up with the defending NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder. While the series did end in a sweep, the Lakers represented themselves well, making things extremely tough on reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander while LeBron James did everything he could to lead his team as far as possible.
The Lakers nearly extended the series by stealing Game 4, but were unable to hold on and came up short. Despite that, however, there was nothing but love from James to his opponents afterwards as he told Gilgeous-Alexander and his former teammate Alex Caruso to go win another title, via NBA on X:
"Go get another one." 👑
All class from @KingJames as he embraces @shaiglalex and his former teammate @ACFresh21 following their 4-0 series win🤝 pic.twitter.com/wHECHzW2aA
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2026
James understands how difficult it is to repeat and he has nothing but respect for Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder as a whole. He and the Lakers threw everything they had at the Thunder, but it just wasn’t enough. For as well as the Lakers held the MVP in check in the first three games of the series, Gilgeous-Alexander took over in Game 4 when things were in the balance down the stretch.
Of course, James’ relationship with Caruso is well known at this point as he has spoken about the guard being one of his favorite teammates ever. Caruso was a big part of the Lakers’ 2020 championship team, just as he was for the Thunder’s run to the title last season and he even made a joke towards detractors of the Lakers’ 2020 ring after winning with the Thunder last year.
The Thunder are poised to be the next dynasty in the NBA and should they repeat this season there will be some discussions beginning about where they stand amongst the all-time great teams. While he will continue to try and take them down for as long as he keeps playing, James still recognizes and respects how great this team is and wants to see them continue to succeed.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault has ‘deepest respect’ for LeBron James
The respect certainly goes the other way as well as the Thunder shared nothing but praise for James and what he continues to do at this stage of his career. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault spoke on this following the Thunder eliminating the Lakers in the playoffs.
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