The Los Angeles Lakers are in danger of dropping their Round 1 series to the Houston Rockets after holding a 3-0 lead, which could also spell the end of LeBron James‘ tenure with the team.
Kendrick Perkins of ESPN predicted on the Thursday, April 30 edition of “NBA Today” that Houston will be the first team in league history to complete and 0-3 comeback.
“They are in trouble. As a matter of fact, the Rockets are gonna win this series,” Perkins said. “Yes, making history. And I’m sorry, because [James] is gonna be on the wrong side of it.”
The implications of dropping four in a row to Houston and losing the series stretch well beyond the embarrassment that will rain down on the NBA’s premier franchise if it becomes the first to experience a previously unheard of postseason collapse.
There is also James’ future in L.A. to consider, which has been a question mark all season and has become an imminent concern with Los Angeles in Houston as the underdog in a Game 6 matchup on Friday.
LeBron James Changed Play Style to Fit Alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves Late in Season
GettyAustin Reaves (left) and Luka Doncic (right) of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers’ star trio of James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves spent much of the year producing a negative point differential while on the floor together, which only flipped from red to black down the last stretch of games they played together in the spring.
Tough questions about James, the oldest player in the league at 41, and his fit with the two young, offense-first/on-ball playmakers emerged.
Had L.A. been able to spend the more than $52.6 million James made in 2025-26 on a lob threat/rim protector at center and another 3-and-D wing alongside Doncic and Reaves, perhaps the Lakers could have been contenders with the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the very top of the league.
However, James then acquiesced to a tertiary role while sharing the court with his two co-stars, which kept him off the ball in ways prominent analysts like Tim McMahon and Tim Bontemps of ESPN admitted they were unsure they would ever see from the four-time MVP.
That changed the math for the Lakers offensively. And so, while the team still had major questions on the defensive side of the floor and with regards to its front-line size/rebounding prowess, the offense was equipped with three elite playmakers operating within an established hierarchy of ball dominance that led to 16 wins across an 18-game stretch.
LeBron James’ Future Likely Tied, at Least in Part, to Lakers’ Playoff Run
GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
A future with James in purple and gold beyond this playoff run began to take a definitive shape.
Obviously, the team can’t bring him back next year at a monster salary. But if he is willing to play at a significant discount, there could be a future in which the Lakers employ the league’s elder statesman and also contend at the highest level.
James’ leadership, guts and statistical performance across three wins to open the Round 1 series, absent Doncic and Reaves because of injury, backed that up. In fact, had the Lakers closed Houston out via a sweep before Reaves’ return in Game 5, it might have been next to impossible for Los Angles not to bring James back into the fold in some form or fashion for 2026-27.
But the Lakers got blown out in Houston in Game 4. Reaves returned in Game 5 and the team lost again, this time at home. Now, the Rockets are on the cusp of forcing a Game 7 and questions about James’ viability in L.A. moving forward are resurfacing.
Should the Lakers drop four in a row to Houston and fall out of the playoffs, the tables could turn completely, and it could prove next to impossible from a public relations standpoint for Los Angeles to justify paying a 42-year-old James any amount of money rather than using all of its resources to build an ideal roster around Doncic and Reaves as the co-futures of the franchise.
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