The Oklahoma City Thunder gave the Los Angeles Lakers a reality check on Thursday, blowing them out 139-96 at Paycom Center. The game was over almost as soon as it began, and Kendrick Perkins stated on First Take that it showed that the Lakers cannot win it all with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the way.
“Last night showed me that if you’re the Lakers, you cannot invest all your money into Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic as your two franchise guys going forward, if you’re expecting to win a championship,” Perkins said. “Those two guys cannot be your franchise guys taking up majority of your dollars and take you to the Promised Land.
“I hope Austin Reaves get all the money in the world because I’m a fan of Austin Reaves,” Perkins continued. “I believe he’s a hooper. I believe he’s one of the better offensive players in the game today. But if we’re talking big picture and we’re talking about the future of the Los Angeles Lakers, that moment last night and their record against the top two seeds in the Western Conference should remind them, or have them rethink things far as who’s going to be leading the charge in the near future when it comes down to their two franchise guys.”
The Lakers had signed Doncic to a three-year, $165 million extension last offseason. There were no concerns whatsoever about the Slovenian getting that deal.
There are concerns, though, about the kind of contract Reaves, who is averaging 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, might get. He has a $14.9 million player option for 2026-27 that he is set to decline to hit free agency. The Lakers are reportedly prepared to offer Reaves a huge five-year, $240 million contract in the summer. Would that be unwise? Perkins certainly believes so.
Concerns about Doncic and Reaves being the Lakers’ two franchise players moving forward had gone away to an extent after they went 15-2 in March. Defense has always been the biggest worry when you have those two in the backcourt, but the team fared well on that end during that stretch.
Optimism was growing, but then last night happened. As Perkins pointed out, the Lakers have struggled massively this season against the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, the teams that are set to finish as the top two seeds in the West. They are now 1-6 against them.
This latest loss dropped the Lakers to 0-3 against the Thunder. The first of those losses was by 29 points, and the second by nine. It’s mostly been a no-contest, and these teams will be meeting again on Tuesday. With Doncic having been ruled out for the rest of the regular season, the Thunder will likely sweep the season series.
As for the Spurs, the Lakers have lost the season series against them 3-1. They won the first meeting by two points, but then lost each of the next three by double digits.
With the Thunder and the Spurs having relatively young cores, these two are likely to be dominant forces in the West for the foreseeable future. Can the Lakers compete against them with Doncic and Reaves? Well, they can, provided they build the ideal roster around the two guards.
Doncic and Reaves need athletic defenders next to them, and the Lakers don’t have many right now. If they can sort out that problem in the offseason, they should be able to put up more of a fight against the two juggernauts in the West.
