Big Man Battle Heavily Favors OKC in Thunder-Lakers Matchup

The Thunder should be able to dominate the paint against LA.

Apr 2, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) and Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton (5) look up for a rebound during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City is set for a second-round matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, and the battle of the bigs should be a massive advantage for the defending champions.

On Friday night, the Lakers finally finished off their series against the Houston Rockets to punch their ticket to the second round, setting up a matchup with the Thunder. With Game 1 set for Tuesday, there are plenty of storylines to look forward to ahead of another highly anticipated matchup.

While there are various reasons why the Thunder are overwhelming favorites in this series, it’s impossible to overlook the advantage Oklahoma City should have inside. Beyond what the numbers say, simply looking at the matchup down low, it’s clear that the Thunder will have their way with the Lakers in the paint.

With Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein on one side, and Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes on the other, things could get ugly in this series, and those matchups will be a huge reason. Throughout the regular season, the Thunder dominated their matchups with the Lakers, sweeping the season series, including three blowout wins.

In the four matchups, the Thunder tied once in the rebounding battle and won the glass in the three other meetings. While this Thunder era has been known to struggle on the glass at times, Holmren and Hartenstein have the ability to impose their will in this series before matching up with either Victor Wembanyama or Rudy Gobert next round.

In the first round against Houston, Ayton averaged 11.8 points and 10.4 rebounds while shooting just over 60% from the field. Considering the Lakers’ overall numbers weren’t all that impressive, Ayton’s contributions meant a great deal to his team’s ability to get out of the first round.

Of course, Alperen Sengun is a much easier matchup for Ayton than Holmgren or Hartenstein. With the elite defense of Chet Holmgren inside, the Thunder should be able to significantly alter the Lakers’ offensive attack, especially after playing a first-round series against a team without rim protection.

The matchup also doesn’t look any better for the Lakers on the other side of the court. In the first round against Phoenix, Holmgren played some of the best ball of his postseason career.

He averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and two blocks, while nailing 59.1% of his shots and shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc. Add in Hartenstein’s 11.3 points and 8 rebounds a night, and the Thunder may be able to dominate this series based on their frontcourt alone.