Entering Thursday night’s blockbuster showdown against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers had won 16 of their past 18 games and reached the 50-win mark in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011.
Luka Doncic was playing like an MVP frontrunner, and head coach JJ Redick had found a workable formula for his talented yet volatile team that had risen to third in the Western Conference.
The Lakers remain third on Friday morning. But the vibes are a little bit worse after Doncic suffered a left hamstring strain in a 139-96 loss in Oklahoma City — the Lakers’ worst defeat of the season.
The 44-point beatdown at Paycom Center was all the ammunition that Kendrick Perkins needed Friday to make a scathing assessment of the Lakers’ playoff chances.
In short, he isn’t particularly high on them, now or in the future.
“When I look at the Lakers, they’re a second-round exit, that’s their ceiling,” Perkins said on ESPN’s “First Take” show. “The Lakers don’t scare a soul, even on Halloween.”
Kendrick Perkins GOES IN on the Lakers 😬
“When I look at the Lakers, they’re a 2nd round exit, that’s their ceiling…. The Lakers don’t scare a soul. Even on Halloween…. Last night showed me if you’re the Lakers, you cannot invest all your money into Austin Reaves and Luka… https://t.co/jhZfUSb18z pic.twitter.com/DnuCvMQ8VB
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 3, 2026
Perkins cited the Lakers’ combined 1-6 record against the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs as proof that this team — even with the trio of Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves — is not built for playoff success.
Further, former NBA champion Perkins thinks that the Lakers will make a serious error if they re-sign Reaves in free agency this summer. He believes that Reaves “cannot lead the charge” toward championship contention alongside Doncic, and Thursday’s loss to the Thunder “proved” that hypothesis in Perk’s eyes.
“Last night showed me that, if you’re the Lakers, you cannot invest all your money into Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic as your two franchise guys going forward if you’re expecting to win a championship,” he said.
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