When the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers met in the 2025 NBA Finals, it should have become abundantly clear for 28 other teams that depth and balance is the formula for a championship nowadays. If the Los Angeles Lakers did not learn that lesson then, they are surely understanding it at present, amidst an 0-3 deficit to the Thunder in their second-round tilt.
The Thunder secured their chokehold on the Lakers with a decisive 131-108 win in Game 3. If Chet Holmgren's message about how ready all of his teammates are to win any given game did not get heard by Los Angeles, maybe LeBron James' words did catch the franchise's attention.
After Game 3, James was asked to talk about the Thunder. The Lakers star had plenty of praise for just how deep the defending champions are.
"It's not surprising. You've seen them over the years. They have a lot of bodies, and they got a lot of guys that can do multiple things on the floor. So, it helps to have that depth."
Depth is what the Lakers are lacking to put them over the top
The Lakers have been beaten by the Thunder's depth over and over in this series. It should be unsurprising to hear James point out the value in having that.
LeBron may not be outwardly telling Rob Pelinka to go and add more depth. However, reading in-between the lines here suggests that is the clear separator between what the Lakers have to work with and what helps the Thunder be the favorites for back-to-back championships in 2026.
It matters, of course it does. How could it not when the Thunder have yet to drop a single game in these NBA Playoffs?
In defense of Pelinka, there was an effort to address these problems for the Lakers in the past offseason. Instead of bringing back Dorian Finney-Smith, Los Angeles pivoted to set themselves up with Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia instead.
They even tried to bolster that depth at the trade deadline by acquiring Luke Kennard. Unfortunately for the Lakers, there is another part of LeBron's message above that is even more subtle. They need guys who can consistently do multiple things.
Marcus Smart has been a slam dunk, even with some of his flaws. Kennard has helped in spurts. However, Ayton and LaRavia particularly leave something to be desired. LaRavia did not even appear in the Lakers' Game 3 loss after JJ Redick opted to feature rookie Adou Thiero in his place instead.
If LeBron is planning on a return to Los Angeles during the offseason, James is already planting the seeds for reinforcements. It may not be intentional on his part either. However, it is necessary.
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