Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/09/26

The Oklahoma City Thunder will try to secure a borderline insurmountable 3-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Los Angeles Lakers when these 2 teams tangle once again on Saturday, this time in L.A. Oklahoma City took the first 2 games at home by scores of 108-90 and 125-107. Yes, the Lakers are now playing in the friendly confines of Crypto.com Arena, but that may not matter as much as the oddsmakers suggest (they are +8.5 underdogs after being +15.5 and +16.5 ‘dogs in Game 1 and Game 2, respectively). Should there really be that much of a shift after Los Angeles got clobbered by 18 points in each of the first 2 contests? Probably not. Those results were nothing new, either. In the regular season, OKC swept L.A. by winning all 4 matchups — doing so by a combined 117 points. And it’s not like Luka Doncic (hamstring) is coming back to save the Lakers. He is out for Game 3 and is not expected to return during this series even if his team somehow takes it all the way to a seventh game. Those are among the reasons why my Thunder vs Lakers pick is for the visitors to win and cover — again.

Just like they were throughout last year’s playoffs en route to the NBA title, the Thunder are an absolute wagon. They are 6-0 in the playoffs so far (including a first-round sweep of Phoenix) and have won every game by at least 9 points. Jalen Williams (hamstring) remains on the shelf, but OKC is accustomed to playing without him this season and it has not exactly had a serious impact. Ajay Mitchell has been stepping up in Williams’ absence to the tune of at least 15 points scored in the past 5 games and at least 18 in the past 3. Reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is still getting plenty of help — a lot more than LeBron James and Austin Reaves are getting on the other side. Give me the Thunder to win and win big.

Thunder vs Lakers prediction: Oklahoma City -8.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

Skip the waitlist and sign up for Polymarket RIGHT NOW to get instant access and a $20 trading bonus! You can join Polymarket by clicking here and trade on our Thunder vs Lakers predictions.