However, at 41, he may be up for his tallest task yet when his Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves-less Los Angeles Lakers take on Kevin Durant’s No. 5 Houston Rockets in the Divisional Round of the NBA Playoffs.
If you’d like to see if James — along with a starting five made up of DeAndre Ayton, Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia and Luke Kennard — have the guts and gusto scrap out a victory, tickets are available for all four hypothetical home games at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena as of today.
At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on seats for any one contest was $142 including fees on StubHub.
Should you opt to road-trip to Houston, prices start at $179 including fees for games at the Rockets’ Toyota Center.
When the two clubs met in the regular season, Los Angeles swiped two of three contests from Houston but that was largely thanks to 36 and 40-point scoring efforts from Dončić on March 16 and 18.
Still, head coach J.J. Redick is optimistic that his Lakers can compete.
“Houston’s obviously a really good basketball team and we’re gonna prepare and we’re gonna fight and we’re gonna go try to win the series,” Redick, 41, said in a postgame press conference.
“We’re gonna do everything we can to get our guys in a great frame of mind, great physical shape over the next four or five days and be ready to play.”
On a promising note, the LAL closed the regular season on an impressive three-game win-streak where they blew out the Warriors, Suns and Jazz.
Will this be LeBron’s most heroic series to date over an already storied career?
Although we can’t say for certain, we do know you’ll want to be in the building to see King James take on KD for the fourth time in the playoffs and first since 2018.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about the Lakers vs. Rockets 2026 NBA Playoffs series below.
A complete calendar including all announced Lakers home game dates and the best prices on tickets can be found here:
All Rockets playoff home game dates and the cheapest tickets available can be found below.
Fans hoping to catch LeBron and co. on the tube can watch all first-round playoff games on ABC, ESPN, TNT, Prime Video, NBC and NBA TV.
Just make sure to review your local listings before tuning in.
If you don’t have cable, your best bet may be DIRECTV.
As noted above, the Lakers and Rockets met three times over the course of the 2025-26 campaign. Los Angeles won two; Houston came out on top on Christmas Day.
However, losing Luka Dončić and Reaves in early April changes everything.
Now, the Rockets’ young nucleus of Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun loom larger than ever.
Thankfully, the Rockets turned the ball over the fourth most in the NBA this season. If the Lakers capitalize, anything can happen.
Especially if Luka dons the purple and gold yet again this year; he’s been in Spain undergoing treatment on his injured leg over the past few days and may return.
Been meaning to see who’s on the playoff bubble?
Check out the NBA’s 2026 playoff hopefuls here.
Looking for entertainment outside of the NBA playoffs?
Here are just five huge artists you won’t want to miss live these next few months.
Want to see who else is on the road? Check out our list of all the biggest concert tours in 2026 to find the show for you.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
