LeBron James: Lakers were 'out-talented' by Thunder in playoffs

Having had more than a week to process the Los Angeles Lakers' second-round playoff exit against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, LeBron James said the result came down to a talent gap between the two teams, more than anything else.

"I have the passion and the admiration to hoist a Larry O'Brien Trophy up every single year, but I also have a realization of what particular team I have been a part of in that particular year," James said in an episode of his podcast, "Mind the Game," with co-host Steve Nash released Thursday. "And understanding this year, we fought and we played to the maximum ability of our team. But ultimately, if we're being completely honest, we were out-talented."

The No. 4 seed Lakers played the top-seeded Thunder in the conference semifinals after beating the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round.

"We were not outworked, they didn't out-physical us, they didn't outsmart us," James said of the Thunder. "I feel like we were just out-talented by OKC. They just possess so much more talent."

Los Angeles played Oklahoma City without star Luka Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer who finished No. 4 in MVP voting but missed the entire postseason with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain.

"At the end of the day, we failed in talent," James said. "OKC just possessed so much more talent than us. You can tip your cap to them, obviously, in understanding that. But you can't get caught up in that, especially when you know you were undermanned."

James also addressed his timeline to contemplate whether he intends to return for a 24th season in 2026-27, breaking his own record for the longest career in league history.

"I'm still in the moment of just taking my time," James said. "I haven't even really thought about it too much. Obviously, I understand that I'm a free agent and I can control my own destiny -- being here with [the Lakers] for the foreseeable future or if it's going somewhere else.

"But like, I haven't even really got to that point. I haven't even taken my family vacation yet, which is going to happen after Memorial Day. That's kind of the thing at the forefront of my mind. But I think at some point in June, late June, as July rolls around -- free agency starts to get going and as July rolls around and maybe into August, we'll start to kind of get a feel of what my future may look like."br/]