The Los Angeles Lakers need a miracle. Dave McMenamin of ESPN recently appeared on SportsCenter and relayed his belief that Luka Doncic has indirectly confirmed that he will not play during the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
If McMenamin is ultimately proven right, then Los Angeles will need LeBron James to deliver one last miracle before an offseason that may very well end his Lakers career.
James, 41, will be an unrestricted free agent come the 2026 offseason. Once that time comes, all options will be on the table—including retirement and leaving a Lakers team that has effectively made him a third option when Doncic and Austin Reaves are healthy.
If one of those outcomes ultimately comes to fruition, then James will leave the Lakers having delivered a championship, two Conference Finals appearances, and three trips beyond the first round of the playoffs.
That includes what's already been a fairly miraculous 2026 postseason. James led the Lakers past the 52-win Houston Rockets during the first round despite playing four of the series' six games without Reaves and all six down Doncic.
The question is: Can James muster what would amount to one of the greatest miracles of his illustrious career by guiding the Lakers past the 64-win Oklahoma City Thunder?
Luka Doncic projected to miss entire second round, leaving Lakers in LeBron's hands
James was spectacular against the Rockets, running the offense with vision and precision. He didn't shoot particularly efficiently, but he dictated everything Los Angeles seemed to be doing and directed traffic en route to a 4-2 series win.
James then opened the Thunder series by posting 27 points, six assists, four rebounds, and a steal on 12-of-17 shooting from the field.
Unfortunately, the Lakers lost Game 1 to Oklahoma City by a lopsided score of 108-90. It was a fairly competitive encounter, but it was also a clear sign of how thin the line is between competing with the defending NBA champions and losing by double digits.
With this in mind, the task in front of James is both unfair and perhaps inevitable: He must take his game to an even higher level to give the Lakers a fighting chance.
With Doncic absent and Austin Reaves struggling, the Lakers need more than just a great game—they need James to look superhuman again. That may ultimately call for a night when he puts up 27 and six to look more like 35 and 10, although the numbers are obviously only a piece of the puzzle.
It may not be fair to place such a burden on a 41-year-old player's shoulders, but if Doncic truly is sidelined for the rest of the series, then the Lakers will need one more miracle from James.
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