OKLAHOMA CITY — In the modern NBA, spectators put star players’ legacies on the line during the playoffs with every dribble they take.
And within a playoff series, there’s a natural comparison between star players.
TheLakers-Thunder second-round matchupfeatures two of the biggest names in the league despiteLuka Doncic (left hamstring strain)still being sidelined entering Tuesday’s Game 1 at Paycom Center.
On the Lakers’ side, you haveLeBron James, the 41-year-old, four-time league MVPwho continues to redefine what the latter stages of a player’s NBA career can look like.
And on the Thunder’s side, you have the reigning and likely-to-be-two-timeMVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led the defending NBA champions to a league-best 64-win regular season.
With Doncic sidelined, series like Lakers-Thunder could be saddled with the “passing of the torch” narrative.But that isn’t the case at all: Gilgeous-Alexander firmly has “the torch” in a way James hasn’t in a while.
Gilgeous-Alexander claimed “the torch” when he led the Thunder to a franchise-best 68-win season in 2024-25 before receiving his first league MVP.
He became the 11th player in league history and, ironically, the first since James, to win the regular season and Finals MVP in the same season (which James did in back-to-back-years in 2012-13).
With respect to Nikola Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander is the best player in the league, with the opportunity to make even more history this postseason.
In an era defined by parity, Gilgeous-Alexander is looking to lead the Thunder past the Lakers and back to the Western Conference finals, which could make them the first defending champions to qualify for that round since the 2018-19 Warriors.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
