Player Grades: Lakers vs. Thunder

Grading every Lakers player’s performance from the team’s 136-120 loss to the Thunder.

The Lakers were heading toward an epic ending against the Thunder until the referees decided they were the main characters.

Luka Dončić was ejected in the fourth quarter on an egregious call for supposedly cursing at an official. However, it seems pretty clear he was talking to a fan, not referee J.T. Orr, who issued the technical foul on Luka.

Los Angeles never recovered from this decision and ended up losing a game they were winning.

The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow, but we learned a lot from the Lakers playing the Thunder for the second straight game.

So, let’s dive into the loss. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

Dorian Finney-Smith

32 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 4-8 FG, 4-8 3PT, -13

DFS started with Rui Hachimura out and he did well. He only took 3-pointers and converted on half of them. His defense was good and the biggest issue is that it would’ve been nice if he grabbed a few more rebounds.

Overall, I’m not sure this game was a strong case for DFS to start, but it demonstrated he can be slotted as a starter when Hachimura is unavailable.

Grade: B

LeBron James

35 minutes, 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 8-19 FG, 3-6 3PT, 6-9 FT, -23

Only LeBron can score 28 points, and you come away feeling disappointed. He just didn’t seem aggressive enough to start the game, was turning the ball over and his defense was lacking. As the game progressed, he improved, and it looked like the Lakers were about to earn a huge win before Luka was ejected.

LeBron still doesn’t seem to be fully back, but when it mattered, he played better.

Grade: B

Jaxson Hayes

27 minutes, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 3-4 FG, 1-2 FT, -1

This was a good performance by Hayes. He had some impressive dunks in the second half and a couple of blocks near the rim that were fantastic. Overall, Hayes handled his defensive responsibilities well and saw a surge in playing time because of it.

Grade: B+

Austin Reaves

38 minutes, 24 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 6-12 FG, 4-7 3PT, 8-12 FT, -19

Reaves was drawing calls, but not finishing well from the line. He missed four free throws and had four turnovers in this loss.

The Thunder were allowed to play a very physical game as the refs swallowed their whistles. Despite all the contact, Reaves still found ways to be effective and scored 24 points.

Grade: B-

Luka Dončić

31 minutes, 23 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 7-15 FG, 3-7 3PT, 6-7 FT, +6

Luka was the only Lakers starter who had a positive plus-minus. He was aggressive getting inside the paint, knocking down some timely 3-pointers and had Los Angeles in prime position for glory before his unfortunate ejection.

Yes, Luka has to be careful with his tongue, but this was just a bad technical foul. What a shame he didn’t get a chance to beat the Thunder in the fourth quarter.

Grade: B+

Jarred Vanderbilt

20 minutes, 8 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 3-5 FG, 2-4 FT, -17

Vando was stupendous in this game. In the third quarter, he was flying all over the court, grabbing rebounds, scoring buckets and defending guys the full length of the court.

He had the Thunder agitated with his defensive pressure, and this looked like the Vanderbilt who was in ex-factor for Los Angeles last season. If he can play at this level more often, he gives the Lakers another elite defender on the wing that Redick will love playing.

Grade: A-

Gabe Vincent

25 minutes, 5 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2-7 FG, 1-6 3PT, -10

Vincent played so well on Sunday against the Thunder, but in this rematch, his performance took a dip. He went 1-6 from 3-point range and had a couple of bad offensive plays that ended up as turnovers. The Lakers know Vincent won’t ever be awful, but they also can’t depend on him being good either.

Grade: C

Jordan Goodwin

13 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2-5 FG, 2-4 3PT, -5

Goodwin had some nice 3-pointers and honestly, considering how Vincent played, I would’ve liked him to have gotten more run in this game. He was solid with his on-ball defense and was a better scoring threat than Vincent was. It’s unlikely he’ll jump up in the rotation, but I hope Redick considers it during the playoffs when Vincent doesn’t have it.

Grade: B

Dalton Knecht

14 minutes, 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, -1

This level of play is too much for Knecht to handle. His defensive mistakes are just too much for the Lakers to overcome against a top team. Unfortunately, Knecht will be doing a lot of learning with his eyes from the bench during the playoffs.

Christian Koloko, Shake Milton, Trey Jemison III

This trio only saw the floor during the game's closing minutes, so they will not receive a grade.

JJ Redick

Purely for the antics, I would’ve liked to have seen Redick tear into the refs for ejecting Luka. He was a bit too calm and collected for my liking. Redick also played Vincent too much and didn’t give Goodwin enough run.

Grade: C

Tuesday’s DNPs: Alex Len, Markieff Morris

Tuesday’s inactives: Maxi Kleber, Rui Hachimura, Bronny James

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.