LeBron hits out: Lakers ‘not a championship team’
The Los Angeles Lakers star had some choice words on their championship ambitions.
In a blunt mid-season reality check, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James dropped a stark assessment of his team’s title hopes after a loss that exposed some troubling weaknesses. With the 2025-26 NBA season entering its crucial stretch, James did not mince words when comparing his Lakers to one of the league’s best squads.
Following a 119-110 defeat at home to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, James was asked how his club measures up to the elite teams in the Western Conference.
The 41-year-old replied with a rare explosion, stating in clear terms that the Lakers were not a “championship team” this season in the NBA.
LeBron was vibing pregame last night 😄 pic.twitter.com/2okQPiAIwO
— NBA (@NBA) February 10, 2026
“That’s a championship team right there. We’re not”
“You want me to compare us to them? That’s a championship team right there. We’re not,” James growled to reporters. “We can’t sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes, and they can. That’s why they won a championship.”
Lakers coach JJ Redick said on the matter: “I think when you play the best teams - and Oklahoma City is clearly - you know, you have to have a really high level of effort and you have to have a really high level of execution. It’s got to be both, and I thought for the most part our effort was fantastic. In key stretches of the game, our execution wasn’t great.”
James’ remarks came on the heels of a promising run that saw the Lakers win three straight before meeting the Thunder, but inconsistency has been the only constant for Los Angeles this season. Despite flashes of brilliance, the Lakers have struggled defensively and failed to close out games in crunch moments; the trade deadline passed with relatively little activity, only exacerbating the fan fury.
“Dad, how good was Cleveland LeBron?” pic.twitter.com/1S2kAB2Csf
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) February 10, 2026
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The Los Angeles Lakers’ next game is against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. The tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, where the Lakers will be hosting the Spurs in a regular season NBA matchup.
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