Lakers' LeBron James admits brutal truth after humbling loss to Thunder

LeBron James is at the point of his career where he isn't sugarcoating things.

On Monday night, his Los Angeles Lakers lost to the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-110.

Afterward, James was asked to compare the Lakers to the Thunder. His answer was revealing.

"You want me to compare us to them? That's a championship team right there. We're not," James said. "We can't sustain energy and effort for 48 minutes and they can. That's why they won a championship."

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That's not exactly encouraging for fans of the Lakers. James admitting that they don't have a championship team doesn't drum up much excitement for the rest of the season.

Of course, the Lakers have lots of talent. James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves form a fantastic core.

In some ways, this is LeBron trying to deliver a message to his teammates through the media. He knows the Lakers have to be better to reach their peak outcome for this season.

But in other ways, James might just be telling it like he sees it.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers in three of the four quarters on Monday, with only a quality third quarter from L.A. keeping the game even a bit close.

LeBron led the way with 22 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in a game that didn't have Luka or Reaves on the court.

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The Thunder didn't have Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, though, and it was just Jalen Williams' first game back from injury.

OKC knew how to win with its other pieces, including 19 points from Isaiah Joe and 17 from Alex Caruso.

The Lakers will get in the playoffs comfortably, and they'll be a team others don't want to play due to the top-end talent they've got.

James knows that's not enough, though, and is likely hoping they can bridge that gap.

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