The Oklahoma City Thunder have done more than just sweep the Los Angeles Lakers. With a 115-110 win at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night, the defending champions advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season and officially ended a seven-year curse that began in 2019.
According to ClutchPoints, no defending champion had advanced past the second round since the 2019 Golden State Warriors led by Kevin Durant. After that, six consecutive title teams — the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, and Boston Celtics — all failed to reach the conference finals in the year following their championship.
Oklahoma City has now broken that streak. Since 2019, no defending champion had won a second-round playoff series until now. Here is the historical breakdown:
• 2019 Raptors: Champions → 2020 Raptors: eliminated in second round
• 2020 Lakers: Champions → 2021 Lakers: eliminated in first round
• 2021 Bucks: Champions → 2022 Bucks: eliminated in second round
• 2022 Warriors: Champions → 2023 Warriors: eliminated in second round
• 2023 Nuggets: Champions → 2024 Nuggets: eliminated in second round
• 2024 Celtics: Champions → 2025 Celtics: eliminated in second round
The Thunder become the first team since the 2018 Warriors to reach the Western Conference Finals as defending champions, and they have done so in dominant fashion. Oklahoma City is 8-0 in the 2026 playoffs, sweeping both of its first two series.
Still, the Lakers gave the Thunder more trouble in Game 4 than they had faced all postseason. For the first time in the playoffs, Oklahoma City trailed in the fourth quarter, falling behind by five points midway through the period. But MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took over down the stretch, scoring a series-high 35 points with 8 assists, including 9 points in the fourth quarter.
Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of the injured Jalen Williams, erupted for a playoff career-high 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting, adding 4 assists and 4 steals. Chet Holmgren contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds, with half of his points coming in the final period.
For the Lakers, the sweep marks one of the most painful endings of LeBron James’ time in Los Angeles. James scored 24 points in what could be his final playoff game. It was only the fourth time in his 302 career playoff games that he has been swept.
Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura both tried to extend the Lakers’ season in Game 4. Reaves finished with 27 points, while Hachimura scored 25, including a critical four-point play in the final two minutes that gave Los Angeles a brief lead.
But the Thunder showed resilience once again and now head to the Western Conference Finals with championship aspirations intact. 