As the 2025-26 NBA regular season winds down, two of the top clubs in the Western Conference will go to battle in one of Tuesday’s late games.
At 10:30 p.m. ET, the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder hit the road to take on the banged-up Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. With the reigning champs listed as staggering 17.5-point favorites, can the hosts keep things close?
Below, we’ll break down our Thunder vs. Lakers prediction and picks for Tuesday night’s game. Make your NBA picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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Thunder vs. Lakers Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
When the Thunder got out to a scorching 24-1 start to the season, chatter built regarding them potentially breaking the regular-season wins record. While head coach Mark Daigneault’s crew won’t come close to doing that, a campaign of 60+ wins and a likely No. 1 seed will have to do.
Oklahoma City is 62-16 entering Tuesday’s play, up 2.5 games on the San Antonio Spurs in the West standings.
For the second consecutive year, the Lakers and head coach JJ Redick have managed to win 50 games. Things were going quite well for Los Angeles until its recent meeting with OKC, when superstar PG Luka Doncic (hamstring) and SG Austin Reaves (oblique) went down with significant injuries.
L.A. now finds itself a half-game back of the Denver Nuggets, occupying the No. 4 seed in the West. Doncic and Reaves are out until at least the start of the playoffs, but likely into the postseason.
The Thunder and Lakers have faced each other 273 times during the regular season, with Los Angeles owning a 157-116 series advantage. With that said, it’s Oklahoma City that’s won four consecutive meetings, including a 139-96 beatdown on April 2.
Thunder vs. Lakers Spread, Over/Under
The Thunder enter Tuesday’s game as 17.5-point road favorites, returning a 1.03x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
The Lakers are home underdogs with a 10x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 35 states.
- Spread: Oklahoma City Thunder -17.5
- Over/Under: 221.5
- Game Winner Payout: Thunder 1.03x | Lakers 10x
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Thunder vs. Lakers Injury Report
Let’s dive into the full Thunder vs. Lakers injury report for Tuesday, via NBA.com.
Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report
- F Jalen Williams (hamstring): OUT
Los Angeles Lakers Injury Report
- PG Luka Doncic (hamstring): OUT
- F LeBron James (foot): OUT
- SG Austin Reaves (oblique): OUT
- G Marcus Smart (ankle): OUT
Thunder vs. Lakers Prediction on Spread – 4/7/26
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your Thunder vs. Lakers prediction on spread for Tuesday, April 7 on PrizePicks.
- The Thunder are 17-18 against the spread as road favorites this season. The Lakers are an ugly 5-7 ATS as home underdogs.
- Oklahoma City’s offense is outstanding, scoring the fifth-most points each night (119.2) and also sitting fifth in effective field goal percentage (56.1%).
- On the defensive end, OKC limits fastbreak opportunities (11.9 PPG, first) and paint scoring (41.3 PPG, second).
- The Lakers’ offense may be second in points per shot at 1.202, but it sees the second-fewest shots go up (83.9) each time out.
- Redick’s crew is nothing to write home about on the defensive end, allowing the sixth-worst shooting efficiency (48.4%) to opponents.
Thunder vs. Lakers Picks for PrizePicks Today: 4/7/26
Here are three top Thunder vs. Lakers picks to target for Tuesday, April 7 on PrizePicks. Player stat projections via PrizePicks are headlined by PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, C-PF Chet Holmgren, and SG Luke Kennard.
Thunder PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Lakers Projection: 30.5 Points
- On the year, Gilgeous-Alexander is pouring in 31.4 points on a nightly basis. Since the All-Star break, that number is 30.2.
- Despite maintaining a high 33.5% usage rate, SGA’s 66.5% true shooting mark is the highest of his illustrious career.
- Last year’s NBA Finals MVP is a sniper from midrange, making 58.2% of his shots from 10-16 feet and 50.4% from 16 feet to the 3-point line.
- Per NBA Advanced Stats, Los Angeles is 19th in defensive rating (118.0) in its last half-dozen contests.
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Thunder C-PF Chet Holmgren vs. Lakers Projection: 23.5 Pts + Rebs
- Through 67 games, Holmgren is putting up 25.8 points and rebounds on average. That figure was 25.1 in the month of March.
- The key to unlocking Holmgren’s scoring efficiency was short-range mastery. He’s making a career-high 80.5% of shots from 0-3 feet.
- Holmgren’s 7.3% offensive rebounding clip and 16.5% total rebounding rate are both personal bests.
- Via databallr, Holmgren brings down 21.5% of available defensive rebounds, putting him in the 77th percentile.
Lakers SG Luke Kennard vs. Thunder Projection: 24.5 Pts + Rebs + Asts
- Since coming over to the Lakers at the NBA trade deadline, Kennard is posting 8.6 PPG on 45.5% shooting from 3-point land.
- This is the best midrange season of Kennard’s career, seeing him convert on 63.6% of shots from 10-16 feet and 53.8% of his attempts from 16 feet to the arc.
- In Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Kennard recorded a career-high 16 rebounds, including 13 on the defensive glass.
- According to NBA RAPM, Kennard logs 3.4 potential assists per minute spent on-ball.
Make Thunder vs. Lakers Picks on PrizePicks
Thunder vs. Lakers picks for Tuesday night hoops aren’t the only avenue hoops fans have to getting in on the daily NBA action.
You can make your picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
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