The Oklahoma City Thunder are loaded and ready to defend their NBA crown. With reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the charge, they have all the firepower to make another deep playoff run. But don’t expect them to overlook the Los Angeles Lakers—even without superstar Luka Doncic in the lineup.

Despite being the No. 1 seed and heavy favorites in the Western Conference semifinals, the Thunder are keeping their focus sharp. Gilgeous-Alexander made it clear that his team isn't taking the No. 4 seed Lakers lightly. “They’re playing really well right now, regardless of who’s out there,” he told reporters ahead of Game 1.

He pointed to LeBron James’ unmatched playoff experience as a major X-factor. “LeBron has been in this situation—this level of games—more than anybody else in the NBA,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We don’t take them lightly. To make it this far in the season, you can get beaten by anybody on any given night.”

The Thunder are coming off a clean sweep of the Phoenix Suns in the first round, while the Lakers needed six games to dispatch the Houston Rockets. But regular-season history tells a different story: Oklahoma City dominated all four matchups against Los Angeles, winning three of those games by 29 points or more. The Lakers’ closest shot came in February, when they fell 119-110 at Crypto.com Arena.

Still, the Thunder know better than to rest on past results. “We’ve got to put our best foot forward,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “That’s what we’ve been focused on all week—getting better, making sure we’re a better team at the end of this week than we were last week.”

For the Lakers, pulling off four wins against this Thunder squad would be a monumental challenge. But as the defending champs know all too well, in the playoffs, anything can happen—and that’s exactly why they’re not taking anything for granted.