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.
The Lakers-Thunder second-round matchup features two of the biggest names in the league despite Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) still being sidelined entering Tuesday’s Game 1 at Paycom Center.
On the Lakers’ side, you have LeBron James, the 41-year-old, four-time league MVP who 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-time MVP 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.
And if Gilgeous-Alexander leads the Thunder to becoming the first team since the 2018 Warriors to win back-to-back titles while winning regular season and Finals MVP again? He’d join James (2012-13) and Michael Jordan (1991-92) as the only players in league history to do so (it’s important to note that the Finals MVP was created in 1969, which was the final season of Bill Russell’s career).
He could join James, Jordan, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to win Finals MVP in back-to-back seasons.
What’s at stake for Gilgeous-Alexander is far greater than what’s at stake for James: Gilgeous-Alexander, who turns 28 in July, is in the midst of his prime. He could be putting together one of the greatest stretches by a player in consecutive seasons in league history. There should be a lot more chapters to write about his story.
On the other hand, James’ legacy is solidified.
Four NBA titles, and four Finals MVPs. Four regular-season MVPs. A league-record 22-time All-Star and 21-time All-NBA honoree. The league’s record holder for most points and minutes played.
But in a career that’s unprecedented, James can accomplish something that’s even rarer for a star: Snatch “the torch” back during the latter stage of his career, even for a moment, by outplaying the league’s best player in a playoff series victory.
Usually when the window for a star to be the leading man on a title-contending team closes, it remains shut. James wasn’t the best player during the regular season, with Doncic and Reaves leading the way.
But he was during the first-round series against the Rockets with Doncic sidelined and Reaves out for four of the six games. And he still will be for the start of the series against the Thunder.
The closest comparison to what James can do is what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did in 1985, when he became the oldest player in league history to win Finals MVP (38). The Lakers beat the defending champion Celtics, who were led by the then back-to-back MVP Larry Bird.
The stakes were obviously much higher because it was a Finals matchup between iconic rivals.
But the situations were also much different.
Abdul-Jabbar was just five years removed from winning his last MVP award in 1980, and only a year removed from receiving All-NBA first team honors, which he did again in 1986 for the final time.
It’s been 13 years since James last won an MVP, and six years since he last received All-NBA first team honors.
Abdul-Jabbar was teammates with Magic Johnson, who finished ahead of him in the 1984-85 regular season MVP voting, in the midst of his prime.
With Doncic out, James’ best teammate is Reaves, who’s coming off an injury-riddled All-Star-caliber season, with the best teammates after Reaves not being comparable to the “Showtime” Lakers roster.
The challenge in front of James is one that hasn’t been done before.
Which would make it all the more impressive if he’s able to pull off another rare feat against the league’s best.
