Thunder, Lakers Set Nba Bracket 2026 Rematch With Jalen Williams Out
The nba bracket 2026 now has the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers meeting in the second round, and both teams arrive with a major hamstring loss. Jalen Williams is out for the Thunder, Luka Dončić is out for the Lakers, and the series starts with the defending champions and a battered Lakers group heading into a playoff rematch not seen since 2012.
Oklahoma City won four times against Los Angeles in the regular season, so this series opens with a clear edge on paper even before the injuries are counted. The Thunder beat Phoenix to advance, while the Lakers got rid of Houston in Game 6 to reach the conference semifinals.
Thunder Hold the Regular-Season Edge
The Thunder handled the Lakers four times in the regular season, a clean season-series sweep that gives Oklahoma City a direct reference point before the matchup shifts to the playoffs. The teams last met in the postseason in 2012, so this is a rare rematch with both rosters changed and both sides already under pressure to adjust quickly.
That regular-season control matters because Oklahoma City did not need a long look to understand what worked. In Game 1 against Phoenix, the Thunder contested 16 of 17 of Devin Booker’s shots, showing how much ground they can cover on that end when their defense is locked in.
Williams and Dončić Sidelined
Williams and Dončić are the names that reshape the series most sharply. One is out for Oklahoma City, the other for Los Angeles, and each absence takes away an All-NBA-level player before the second round even begins.
For the Thunder, Ajay Mitchell had to step in after Williams went down, making his first two career playoff starts. He then posted a plus-27 in a closeout game, which gives Oklahoma City a usable answer in the rotation even as it loses a key piece.
LeBron James Faces a Steeper Climb
The Lakers still bring LeBron James into the series, but they do so with a group that has already absorbed one major setback. Los Angeles still fought through Houston in Game 6, yet the path now gets steeper against a team that beat it four times already and enters as the defending champion.
April 2 offered one more reminder of the gap Oklahoma City can create. In the Lakers’ 139-96 loss, James drove to the basket while the Thunder controlled the game, and that margin now sits behind a second-round series that starts with two star absences and one familiar mismatch.
