JJ Redick Has an Honest Admission About SGA’s Thunder After Going Down 3-0

JJ Redick praised the Oklahoma City Thunder after losing Game 3.

JJ Redick Has an Honest Admission About SGA’s Thunder After Going Down 3-0

Lakers head coach JJ Redick has come under fire for his postgame comments (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Lakers coach JJ Redick acknowledges the Thunder's dominance after a 131-108 loss, putting the Lakers down 3-0 in the series.
  • The Thunder remain unbeaten in the playoffs and are on the verge of a clean sweep against the Lakers.
  • Despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's struggles, the Thunder continue to perform well, winning all seven playoff games so far.

Things are looking bleak for JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers at the moment. They are on the verge of getting clean-swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals after a disappointing loss in Game 3 on Saturday night.

Just like Games 1 and 2, the Lakers were competitive in the first half. But all their hard work was undone in the second half as the defending champions began to dominate on all ends of the floor. In the end, the Lakers succumbed to a 131-108 defeat to the Thunder at the Crypto.com Arena.

Following the loss, Lakers head coach Redick gave the Thunder their flowers after three straight wins against his side.

They’ve kicked our a** three-straight games. They’re an incredible basketball team.

JJ Redick in his post-match press conference

After impressing the NBA world in the first round against the Houston Rockets, JJ Redick and his side were heavy underdogs heading into the second round. The Lakers coach has gone on to label the Thunder as one of the greatest teams in NBA history.

The Lakers have been simply outclassed and have had no chance to deal with the depth and firepower of the Thunder. To make things even more difficult, they have been competing without their star player, Luka Doncic, throughout the playoffs. With the Lakers down 3-0, it looks like the Slovenian guard will not make any appearance in the playoffs this year.

The Thunder are the only side to remain unbeaten in the playoffs this year. After handing the Phoenix Suns a clean sweep, they are well on course to do the same to the Lakers.

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JJ Redick is not throwing in the towel yet

The Lakers’ 2025-26 campaign is all but done. While the Thunder still need to close it out, every game henceforth is an elimination game for the Lakers. To make matters worse, no team has ever mounted a comeback from 3-0 down in NBA history.

Despite history not being on their side, JJ Redick remains confident they can win a game and extend the series.

I’m not giving up on the series. We’re gonna go try to win on Monday. We’re gonna try and extend the series and we’re trying to take this thing back to OKC.

JJ Redick in his post-match press conference

The Thunder are invincible at the moment, and the Lakers have a herculean task ahead of them. With no reports of Doncic returning anytime soon, it is going to be a lot harder for the Lakers to pull off the impossible.

OKC dominate despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s struggles

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a historic 2025-26 campaign, and he is well on course to repeat it this year. He is the heavy favorite to win the MVP award and is in a good position to go all the way once again this year.

However, the Canadian international has not been at his scoring best against the Lakers in this series. He is averaging just 21 points in the three games so far. On Saturday, he scored 23 points, which is the most he has scored in this series. But he struggled to score, shooting just 35% from the field.

Lakers star LeBron James and OKC guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Lakers star LeBron James and OKC guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Image via Sleeper Lakers/X)

It is remarkable that the Thunder continue to dominate despite their star player struggling to find his rhythm. But it also serves as a warning sign for the rest of the league on how good the Thunder really are. They have won seven of their seven games so far in the playoffs this year.

The 27-year-old will be looking to bounce back in Game 4 as the Thunder aim for a clean sweep in the Western Conference Semifinals. Meanwhile, the Lakers will play for pride and will do everything they can to prevent getting swept.

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