The Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder are each one win away from a seemingly inevitable encounter in the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. Despite Los Angeles playing each of its first three games without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves, and Oklahoma City losing Jalen Williams, they've jumped out to 3-0 series leads over the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns respectively.
If Los Angeles and Oklahoma City ultimately meet, one thing will become perfectly clear: The Thunder's greatest advantage over the Lakers is that their lead executive values the NBA Draft.
The Lakers and Thunder couldn't be any more different in regard to how they've built their respective rosters. The only current Los Angeles players who were drafted by the franchise are Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, and Adou Thiero—and only James at 5.3 minutes per game has played this postseason.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, has seven drafted players playing double-digit minutes per game: Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, Cason Wallace, and Jaylin Williams.
That's not only allowed the Thunder to develop talent within their established system, but to build a rotation flush with team-friendly contracts. Between rookie-scale deals and talent re-signed at reasonable rates, Oklahoma City is depth personified.
Though Los Angeles has experienced its share of postseason success through unsung heroes, the glaring absence of developable talent and team-friendly contracts can't be overlooked.
Lakers must learn from Thunder about value of draft picks
The good news for the Lakers is that they have a first-round draft pick in 2026, as well as future first-rounders in 2028, 2030, 2031, and 2032. They are due to be without first-round picks in 2027 and 2029, however, and won't have a second-round draft choice until 2032.
That's greatly limited their opportunities to build a roster around Luka Doncic that can not only be molded into something dependable, but developed over time alongside him.
With this in mind, Pelinka must resist the temptation to trade the few draft picks he has for veteran players. There are exceptions to every rule, but the harsh reality in Los Angeles is that depth has been an issue all season and a successful series against the Rockets hasn't changed their reality.
Furthermore, Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes, Luke Kennard, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves will all be unrestricted free agents this coming summer—and Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart could join them.
To avoid the constant struggle of having to rebuild the rotation with fresh faces and risk paying above market value, the Lakers must utilize the NBA Draft to its full potential. Doing so would provide JJ Redick with talent he can mold to fit his strategy and Rob Pelinka with the financial flexibility to permit taking chances.
It may take time for these potential investments to yield results, but the difference between helping Doncic sustain success and shoulder an overwhelming burden will be following Oklahoma City's lead.
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