{"id":195103,"date":"2026-05-12T07:05:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=195103"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:05:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:05:04","slug":"thunder-sweep-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/12\/thunder-sweep-lakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Thunder Sweep Lakers En Route to Historic Feats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just when the Los Angeles Lakers started playing their best basketball of the series, the Oklahoma City Thunder managed to squeeze out a victory on the road. Of all the games they played in the West Semis, Game 4 was expected to be the hardest. It’s always a tough job to close a series on the road. But with a masterclass from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, massive buckets from Ajay Mitchell<\/a>, and clutch plays<\/a> from Chet Holmgren<\/a>, Oklahoma City has its ticket punched for the 2026 Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

With OKC’s Lakers sweep now complete<\/a>, it’s time to examine the impressive and historic feats the defending champions have notched.<\/p>\n

OKC Thunder Sweep LA Lakers En Route To Historic Feats<\/span><\/h2>\n

Amid all the noise in celebration of their success, there are a few landmarks that the Thunder have reached with this win.<\/p>\n

Making It Out The Second Round<\/h3>\n

While they were the clear favorites to win, history wasn’t exactly on OKC’s side in their second round series. For starters, no defending champion had made it out of the second round since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors, who made it all the way to the 2019 NBA Finals. After defeating the Warriors in those Finals, the Toronto Raptors lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2020 Eastern Conference Semis.<\/p>\n

In 2020, the Lakers beat the Miami Heat to win their 17th NBA championship, but lost in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks would go on to win the 2021 NBA championship before being bounced in the second round the next year. In 2022, the Golden State Warriors won it all but couldn’t make it past L.A. in the Western Conference Semifinals. Instead, the Denver Nuggets took the Larry O’Brien Trophy home. The next year, the Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round, though it would be the Boston Celtics who felt the confetti drop.<\/p>\n

Now, that’s<\/em> a long history of defending champions failing to repeat.<\/p>\n

The fact that there’s no team that has gone back-to-back as champions aside from Golden State says a lot about this Thunder squad.<\/p>\n

\n

More history for OKC!<\/p>\n

The Thunder become just the 11th team ever to start a Playoffs 8-0 \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n

2017 GSW (15-0)
\n2001 LAL (11-0)
\n1989 LAL (11-0)
\n2017 CLE (10-0)
\n2016 CLE (10-0)
\n2012 SAS (10-0)
\n1982 LAL (9-0)
\n2010 ORL (8-0)
\n2009 CLE (8-0)
\n2005 MIA (8-0)
\n2026 OKC (8-0)<\/p>\n

NBA Playoffs\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/DHXS3XAjwP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n