Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ready for the Lakers or the Rockets after Round 1 sweep

For the second consecutive season, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to punch its ticket to the second round of the NBA playoffs. On Monday, they completed the four-game series sweep of the Phoenix Suns after taking a 131-122 win in Game 4, and the Thunder are now going to be sitting pretty, waiting for the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets series on the same side of the bracket.

At this point, the Lakers are in a commanding spot, as they are holding a 3-1 lead in the series over the Rockets with Game 5 slated to be on their home court. The likeliest opponent for the Thunder in the next round of the playoffs, in turn, are the Lakers — a team that could perhaps have both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves back by then.

Be that as it may, the Thunder are the reigning champions for a reason, and they are not fazed by either potential matchup — with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander making an emphatic declaration.

“I’ve already been watching all the Lakers and Houston series, so just continue to do so. Watch both teams and see their strengths and weaknesses. Both of them are obviously in the West [so] we’ve played them [both] a few times this year. We know what it will look like,” Gilgeous-Alexander said in his postgame interview with the NBC Sports booth, via ESPN.

"We've played them [both] a few times … We know what it will look like."

SGA on playing either the Lakers or the Rockets in the second round pic.twitter.com/2Vfj4Cf0QD

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 28, 2026

The Thunder dominated the Lakers in the regular season, sweeping them in four games and winning all of them in dominant fashion. The total margin of victory for OKC in their four matchups is 117, and LA barely stood a chance in any of those games.

The Rockets matched up better against the Thunder, but OKC still won the season series, 2-1. Houston is still without Kevin Durant, however, so OKC’s defense is going to swallow Houston whole.

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