Against all odds, LeBron James still shines, holding the record for all-time points scored in the NBA playoffs with 8,428. However cliché it sounds, the 41-year-old continues to prove that age is just a number for him. He spearheaded the Los Angeles Lakers to a series win over the Houston Rockets and now prepares to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference semifinals. The surprising part, though, is that the reigning champions technically did not even exist when the Akron Hammer went pro, showcasing how long and historic his career has been.

Back in 2003, James was drafted in a very different NBA era. At the time, the Thunder did not exist. The franchise was still the Seattle SuperSonics, a team originally based in Seattle. A year after drafting Kevin Durant and setting up for success in 2008, they moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City. A group of Oklahoma-based investors, headed by Clay Bennett, who had purchased the SuperSonics in 2006, was unable to secure public funding to build a new arena. Hence, in a settlement with the lawmakers, moving cities was approved. And after relocating, the blue, orange, and yellow colors of the Thunder came to be.

This showcases the two-plus-decade-long shift in LeBron’s career. From where he started in 2003, flip phones were common, and Facebook was not even a thing. On top of that, some of Thunder’s current players were not even born. Players like Nikola Topić were born in 2005, and Cason Wallace was born in November 2003, months after LeBron was drafted. It shows how many generations of players have come and gone while the Chosen One remains at the top.

Now, this might not be well known, but James has a 4-4 record against the SuperSonics. He also holds a 28-16 record against the Thunder, now led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who would’ve been preparing for his fifth birthday when James was drafted!

What’s even more surprising is that when James made his NBA debut, the Thunder’s current coach, Mark Daigneault, was just 18 and in high school. Bizarrely, the LA veteran is six months younger than Lakers head coach JJ Redick and two months older than Daigneault! Now, let that sink in. But the history doesn’t stop there. James has a connection with OKC. Back in 2012, he won his first NBA championship with the Miami Heat. In the Finals, he defeated the young OKC “Big Three” of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. That team was full of rising stars, but James’ Heat team won the title.

Then again, in 2023, James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record during a regular-season game against OKC. Now, years later, the story continues in a new way. Fourteen years after facing that original OKC core, James is now competing against its newest version, but the rivalry goes on.

This time, though, things look much harder for LeBron and the Lakers. Oddsmakers clearly favor the Oklahoma City Thunder, listing the Lakers as +950 underdogs. This is one of the biggest playoff underdog positions James has ever faced, and the worst for the Lakers at this stage since at least 1988.

To make it tougher, the Thunder have already dominated them this season. They beat the Lakers in all four regular-season games. Three of those wins came by 29 points or more, and the pressure keeps increasing.

LeBron James’ team should be aware of the Thunder’s one bad habit

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 131–122 in Game 4 and completed a first-round sweep. Even though OKC won, they were drawing negative attention, especially for one foul by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The foul occurred in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder led 116–104. In this viral replay, the reigning MVP appeared to hook or grab Devin Booker while fighting through contact. Many fans believed Gilgeous-Alexander initiated contact, but the referees still called the foul on Booker and gave them free throws.

This decision frustrated fans even more because it came at an important moment in the game. Phoenix was trying to make a comeback, but the whistle halted their momentum and gave Oklahoma City free throws instead. Now, what if something of this sort happens against the Lakers in the semifinals because Shai already has an image of a player who gets many foul calls because he draws contact?

In this series, Suns forward Dillon Brooks also called the Thunder “foul baiters” and questioned how often Gilgeous-Alexander gets free throws. If that happens again with LeBron James’ team, their historic 43-point loss, 139-96, against the Thunder might be on the verge of being recreated.