The OKC Thunder managed to push Giannis Antetokounmpo to his wits' end following their 122-102 drubbing of the Milwaukee Bucks back on January 21.
Not even a month later, it appears they've managed to have the same effect on another superstar, as LeBron James was quite vocal about his Lakers' flaws after being bested on Monday night by a final score of 119-110.
During his post-game locker room media session, the future Hall of Famer was asked what he feels is the biggest thing keeping Los Angeles from successfully measuring up against Oklahoma City here in 2025-26.
Along with pointing out the obvious by stating that the Thunder are a championship team and "we're not," he specifically pointed out how he believes they have been incapable of putting forth full-out energy through all four periods of action.
"We can't sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That's why they won a championship," James said.
OKC Thunder have a knack for making opponents crack post-game
Considering they've compiled 41 wins in 54 games played so far this year, it's clear that few teams have come away from matchups against the Thunder feeling joyful.
LeBron is merely the latest individual to crack following a face-off with the defending champions.
Of course, these post-game flare-ups after playing OKC is not a theme seen solely in this year's campaign, as there were plenty of ill-tempered soundbites that surfaced during the 2024-25 campaign as well.
Some of the most noteworthy remarks came from Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, who spent a large chunk of his time at the podium following a mid-February bout complaining about the team's physical style of play and fanning the flames of the easily debunkable "free throw merchant" narrative surrounding Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In this case, however, James's temper was largely directed toward his own team's shortcomings rather than pointing out any perceived wrongdoings by the Thunder, which, in many ways, is a breath of fresh air.
Fortunately for him, the Lakers will have two more opportunities to take on Oklahoma City over these final few months of action, with a road tilt out in the Sooner State coming on April 2 and a home game in Los Angeles being set for April 7.
So far this season, James has lost every game played against the defending champs, and has gone a lowly 1-4 against them dating back to the beginning of last year's campaign.