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Colin Cowherd didn’t hold back on the Lakers after their blowout loss to the Thunder
For the past few weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers appeared to be establishing themselves as a legitimate title contender. That train of thought came crashing down on Thursday night, though, as the Lakers suffered a 139-96 blowout loss at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Making matters even worse, superstar guard Luka Doncic suffered a hamstring injury that has thrown his status moving forward up in the air.
Right now, the Thunder are the team that every other team in the NBA is attempting to catch up to, so seeing the Lakers lose to them in this fashion was particularly eye-opening. In the wake of this defeat, NBA analyst Colin Cowherd took aim at Los Angeles, making it clear that he does not believe this is a championship-contending team.
Colin Cowherd Hits Lakers with Harsh Truth
For much of the 2025-26 campaign, the Lakers have struggled to find a way to make things work. Their trio of Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James appeared fearsome on paper, but they were unable to generate much success on the court. Everything changed, though, when James stepped back and essentially accepted his role as the No. 3 option on this team behind Doncic and Reaves.
The results over the past few weeks have been hard to ignore. Prior to this loss to the OKC, Los Angeles had rattled off wins in 13 of their past 14 games, with the lone defeat during that stretch seeing them lose by just three points to the Detroit Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. L.A. finally seemed to figure things out, and everybody was excited to see how it was going to fare against the reigning NBA champions.
To the disappointment of many, the Lakers fell flat on their faces, as they were never competitive against the Thunder. Without even considering the potential ramifications of Doncic’s injury, it looks like this team could be in trouble against the top teams in the Western Conference once the playoffs roll around. And if you ask Cowherd, he thinks Oklahoma City proved exactly what sort of team Los Angeles is.
“The Lakers moved up in weight class and got knocked out in the first round,” Cowherd said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “Oklahoma City has led by 30 (points) at half three times this season, twice against the Lakers. Sometimes it’s hard to tell a fake Louis Vuitton bag from a real one until they’re next to each other, and I think you know what I’m getting at.”
Are the Lakers in Trouble After Getting Destroyed by the Thunder?
GettyColin Cowherd didn’t hold back on the Lakers after their blowout loss to the Thunder
Blowout losses happen in the NBA, but when considering the circumstances of this game, it’s tough to undersell how damaging this could be for the Lakers. If they want to win a title this year, they are almost certainly going to have to go through a Thunder team that has dominated them throughout the season. And if Doncic has to miss time in the postseason, that could prove to be a gut punch that Los Angeles can’t overcome.
Right now, all eyes are on Doncic’s injury status, as that could very well determine just how far L.A. is able to go in the postseason. The hope is that Doncic will be ready for the start of the playoffs, where a daunting matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves currently awaits them. The Lakers still have work to do if they want to hold onto the No. 3 seed in the West, though, and it will start with getting a bounce-back win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Owen Crisafulli Owen Crisafulli is an Email Newsletter Editor & Breaking News Writer at Heavy Sports. His work has also appeared on ClutchPoints, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, NESN Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. More about Owen Crisafulli
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