Luka Doncic spent most of last season overwhelming defenses on his way to another scoring title. Then he ran into Oklahoma City. Against the Thunder, the Lakers star delivered his least productive outing of the season before a hamstring injury ruled him out of the playoffs. Now, after an offseason that reshaped both rosters, there are fresh reasons to believe the next meeting could look very different.

Much of that optimism stems from how the Lakers attacked their biggest weaknesses this offseason. The additions of Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Matisse Thybulle and several key rotation pieces give JJ Redick far more lineup flexibility against one of the NBA’s deepest teams, prompting Lakers insider Jovan Buha to argue that Los Angeles is now in a better position to handle Oklahoma City’s unique challenges.

“I think in theory, yes, the Lakers match up better because we can debate whether the Lakers are a better team now than they were last year,” said Jovan Buha on his YouTube channel. “But I think they’re undeniably a deeper team, which will help against OKC, and problem-solving and just lineup versatility and defensive options with the wings that they have now. I think they’re in a better position to match up with OKC from that perspective.”

Buha’s assessment reflects a larger belief around the Lakers’ offseason: they may not have completely closed the talent gap, but they have added the size, rim protection and defensive versatility they lacked whenever Oklahoma City dictated the matchup last season.

OKC clearly lost some talent and depth with losing Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins. To avoid the dreaded second apron tax, the three standouts had to leave. In came seven future second-round picks, no player in return, which saved $240 million in luxury tax. Thunder are capable and deep, but still it will be a challenge to replace the three stars. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Luka Doncic posted his worst statistical performance of the 2025–26 season compared to every other opponent he faced.

Doncic’s numbers against Oklahoma City were unlike anything he produced against the rest of the league. In the matchup, he finished with 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting, including just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, before leaving early because of hamstring tightness. He also posted a 47.3% true shooting percentage, a 78 offensive rating and a 32.3% turnover rate, illustrating just how uncomfortable Oklahoma City’s defensive scheme made life for one of the league’s most dominant offensive players.

The raw numbers only tell part of the story. Oklahoma City’s defensive approach consistently disrupted Doncic before he could get into rhythm. Instead of allowing him to operate comfortably in pick-and-roll situations, the Thunder regularly sent aggressive pressure above the three-point line, forcing the ball out of his hands while Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein protected the paint behind the play. The result was fewer rim attempts, tougher pull-up jumpers and far more turnovers than Doncic typically commits.

Luka Doncic’s history suggests last season was the exception, not the rule

The encouraging sign for Los Angeles is that last season’s performance looks far more like an outlier than a trend. Before the difficult outing against Oklahoma City, Doncic had consistently punished the Thunder throughout his career, including leading Dallas past them in the 2024 Western Conference semifinals while maintaining elite production across multiple regular seasons. Compared to those performances, last year’s showing stands out as a sharp statistical drop rather than evidence that Oklahoma City has permanently solved him.

More importantly, the Lakers appear to have built this roster with matchups like Oklahoma City in mind. Walker Kessler gives them the rim-protecting lob threat they lacked, Quentin Grimes strengthens their point-of-attack defense, while Matisse Thybulle adds another disruptive perimeter defender capable of taking difficult assignments. Kevon Looney provides physicality inside, Collin Sexton offers another downhill creator against defensive traps and the remaining additions improve the overall depth that Buha believes was missing a year ago.

None of those additions guarantee the Lakers will suddenly solve Oklahoma City. The Thunder remain one of the NBA’s most disciplined defensive teams. But if Doncic’s difficult outing last season was truly the outlier his career numbers suggest, Los Angeles now enters the matchup with far more answers than it had a year ago. Whether that proves enough will ultimately be decided on the floor, but the gap between these teams no longer appears as wide as it once did.