With their season on the line, backs against the wall down 3-0 to the defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers didn't count on LeBron James, or Austin Reaves, or even Rui Hachimura to be their hero. But it was Jaxson Hayes. Yes, you read that right.
Hayes was tasked with being the hero who kept the 2025-26 alive for one of the league's most historic franchises, and it went exactly as you expected. The Lakers dropped Game 4 in a tight 115-110 loss and, in the process, allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to sweep them.
Hayes fueled a 39-point third quarter for the Lakers, bringing electric highlight-reel lobs and strong defensive activity to shift the game's energy. But when it was time to close things out, everything Hayes did went out the window as the rest of the Lakers' roster didn't have the same juice.
It doesn't matter that the Lakers had to play this round two series without Luka Doncic—putting the fate of a series in the hands of Hayes can't happen. This guy is playing on a minimum contract, and he had to be counted on to keep this series alive.
Where was Deandre Ayton, you ask? Rotting on the bench the during entire fourth quarter because he was unplayable all night, and Hayes was giving this team the best chance to win.
A heroic effort from Jaxson Hayes couldn't stop Lakers’ collapse
Sure, LeBron, AR, and Rui each gave the Lakers great games, but the energy wasn't there.
A prime example of that came in the fourth, when LeBron felt he was fouled and, as a result, didn't hustle back on defense, leading to a four-on-five for OKC. Guess who bailed them out of that. It was Hayes, who came up with a massive block on Ajay Mitchell that turned into an outlet pass and fastbreak score for LBJ.
That block wasn't just any block, either. Hayes fully rotated, jumped into the sky, and rejected Mitchell's layup attempt, putting everything on the line to get a step as he should be in a win-or-go-home game. I guess the rest of JJ Redick's roster didn't get the memo.
All season long, Hayes has been the team's energy big off the bench, He was the type of player that checks in and flies all over the place, makes highlight plays that re-energize the crowd.
However, Hayes's 18 points and five rebounds weren't enough to wake up the rest of the team and have them ready to close out the game and keep the series alive.
The 2025-26 season was full of ups and downs for the Lakers, but one thing that remained consistent was the team's lack of killer mentality needed to be a true contender. Game 4 of this series exposed that, and unfortunately, this Lakers team will now be remembered as the team to leave the fate of their season up to their backup center.
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