1 year ago
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Zach KramJul 8, 2025, 07:00 AM ET
Although the NBA's 2025-26 Eastern Conference contention looks wide unfastened owed to a rash of prima injuries, the West representation takes connected a antithetic tone. There, a wide of hopeful contenders indispensable pursuit down the champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who won the West by a grounds 16 games past play and person a sustainable roster built to repeat.
But which rivals person the champion accidental to drawback Oklahoma City? Which veteran-laden teams anticipation to enactment sufficiently spry for different heavy playoff run? And which young teams mightiness emergence rapidly up the standings?
To instrumentality a wide overview and analyse the archetypal authorities of the 2025-26 Western Conference field, we've sorted each 15 teams into 5 tiers. Tomorrow, we'll spell done a akin workout with the East, but for now, let's enactment retired West, starting with the evident favourite with a large accidental astatine making history.
Tier 1: The clear-cut favorite
Outside of rostering 2024 first-round prime Nikola Topic, the Thunder haven't added immoderate caller players via commercialized oregon escaped bureau -- but wherefore would they request to? The defending champs already had the league's deepest rotation. And they volition presumably lone get amended successful 2025-26, arsenic 31-year-old Alex Caruso and 30-year-old Kenrich Williams are the lone players older than 27, and Chet Holmgren played conscionable 32 games past play owed to injury.
Better than winning the rubric aft a 68-win regular play and the champion constituent differential successful NBA history? Yes, it's not lone imaginable but realistic. As they effort to go the archetypal back-to-back champions since the Durant-era Warriors, which would drawback a record-long streak without a repetition winner, the Thunder are successful a people of their own.
Tier 2: Ready to contradict a repetition champ
1:09
Shams: The extremity for KD and Rockets is for him to discontinue successful Houston
Shams Charania says that some Kevin Durant and the Rockets privation the prima to decorativeness his vocation successful Houston.
The Rockets were thing of a insubstantial tiger successful 2024-25: They earned the No. 2 effect successful the West with a tireless regular-season effort, but they didn't person the prima powerfulness indispensable to bash harm successful the postseason, starring to a first-round exit against the Golden State Warriors. But aft trading for Kevin Durant and signing Dorian Finney-Smith, with Amen Thompson, Tari Eason and Reed Sheppard acceptable to instrumentality connected bigger roles, the Rockets person a implicit squad with the requisite extent and prima powerfulness to endanger the Thunder.
Houston inactive doesn't person arsenic overmuch top-end endowment arsenic the champs, but it besides doesn't person immoderate existent weaknesses. Don't beryllium amazed if the Rockets onshore the No. 2 effect again but look much playoff-ready portion doing so. This tiger looks real.
The Nuggets' wide operation remains the aforesaid arsenic it has for years: Nikola Jokic leads the way, with Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon providing support. But determination person besides been plentifulness of caller changes successful Denver: There's a caller coach, a caller beforehand bureau and a recently competent bench, aft Denver added Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and -- if helium doesn't instrumentality to Europe alternatively -- Jonas Valanciunas. Cameron Johnson besides takes Michael Porter Jr.'s spot arsenic the knockdown shooter successful the starting lineup aft switching teams this offseason.
If not for an unexpected barrage of Luguentz Dort 3-pointers, the Nuggets precise good could person upset the Thunder successful the 2nd circular this spring. They've since reloaded for different accidental adjacent season.
Anthony Edwards' continued ascent volition beryllium the main origin determining whether Minnesota tin instrumentality to the league finals for the 3rd consecutive season, and ideally amended upon the past 2 trips by advancing to the Finals this time. But overmuch besides rests connected the Timberwolves' defender play beyond Edwards. With Nickeil Alexander-Walker gone to Atlanta, the remainder of Minnesota's backcourt rotation includes Mike Conley, who volition observe his 38th day earlier the play begins; the streaky Donte DiVincenzo; and rising sophomores Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. The duo combined to mean conscionable 8.8 points successful 81 games during their rookie seasons together.
There's committedness present but besides imaginable peril. The Timberwolves tried to clasp their crushed successful the offseason by re-signing Julius Randle and Naz Reid, but it's hard to reason they improved. Meanwhile, the different teams successful this tier made unimpeachable upgrades successful their quest to drawback the Thunder, and mightiness person passed Minnesota successful the process.
Tier 3: The aged guard
0:57
Why the Clippers traded Norman Powell, added John Collins
Ohm Youngmisuk breaks down the Clippers' reasoning for giving up Norman Powell successful a commercialized that landed John Collins successful Los Angeles.
The Clippers should arguably spot 1 tier higher successful this ranking. Kawhi Leonard played his archetypal crippled past play connected Jan. 4, and from past on, the Clippers ranked 2nd successful the West with a plus-7.2 nett rating. They adjacent outscored Denver successful a seven-game bid nonaccomplishment successful the archetypal round, but 2 two-point losses, arsenic good arsenic a lackluster showing successful Game 7, doomed the sleeper contender.
The bully quality for the Clippers is that Brook Lopez enters from Milwaukee arsenic an underrated addition, solving the backup halfway occupation down Ivica Zubac, and each cardinal subordinate from the 2024-25 squad volition beryllium backmost successful 2025-26, but for Norman Powell, whom LA traded for John Collins connected Monday. The atrocious quality is that Leonard and James Harden, positive relation players Lopez, Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn and Bogdan Bogdanovic, are each successful their 30s, truthful it's just to wonderment whether the Clippers missed their accidental past season.
Any squad with Luka Doncic oregon LeBron James, fto unsocial both, is automatically a contender. But bash the Lakers person a sufficiently beardown supporting formed to contend? There are immoderate big, challenging questions here: Can lineups with Doncic, James and Austin Reaves clasp their ain connected the antiaircraft end? Will caller starting halfway Deandre Ayton, caller disconnected a buyout, play with much unit and reverse his multiyear decline? Can Jake LaRavia regenerate Finney-Smith? Is determination capable shooting connected this roster?
Expect the Lakers' play to proceed until they tin firmly reply these questions.
The Warriors person been remarkably inactive this offseason, and they're successful thing of a holding signifier arsenic they hold for escaped cause Al Horford to marque a decision, portion Jonathan Kuminga's restricted escaped bureau resolves. For now, they're successful a akin presumption to however they ended past season: a precise bully team, particularly with Jimmy Butler III successful the fold, but not a ascendant one. Depending connected however the remainder of the offseason unfolds, they could leap up a tier -- remember, they mightiness person made the league finals past play if Stephen Curry hadn't been injured successful Game 1 of the 2nd circular -- but they haven't yet done thing to warrant that amended placement.
Cooper Flagg doesn't beryllium successful the aged guard, and the 18-year-old No. 1 prime represents the top crushed to beryllium excited astir the Mavericks. But a squad led by Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving (once helium returns from his torn ACL), with Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell starting successful the backcourt, inactive qualifies for aged defender designation.
The larger question astir the Mavericks is whether they person capable playmaking -- whether Flagg tin grip constituent guardant duties arsenic a rookie, whether the streaky Russell volition get blistery and, astir of all, whether Irving volition instrumentality astatine afloat spot oregon necessitate different twelvemonth to get backmost up to speed.
Tier 4: Young and hungry
1:20
Dylan Harper 'ready to get successful there' with the San Antonio Spurs
Dylan Harper speaks to Monica McNutt aft being selected by the Spurs with the 2nd pick.
Trading Desmond Bane turned retired to beryllium much of a one-off accommodation than the commencement of a full-blown rebuild. Memphis followed up that astonishing woody by signing Ty Jerome, trading up to draught Cedric Coward (a imaginable Bane replacement) and extending some Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama. There's inactive a batch of extent and endowment connected this roster.
But without Bane, the champion of that endowment is present concentrated astatine constituent defender and center. To debar taking a measurement back, the Grizzlies request either Coward to excel arsenic a rookie, Jaylen Wells to instrumentality a large leap successful his 2nd play oregon Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to bounce backmost aft a down play successful Orlando.
De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama shared the tribunal for conscionable 5 games past season, successful the constrictive spread betwixt the former's commercialized to San Antonio and the latter's diagnosis of heavy vein thrombosis, which ended Wembanyama's standout 2nd play prematurely. Add successful No. 2 prime Dylan Harper and reigning Rookie of the Year victor Stephon Castle, and it's wide the Spurs inactive person a large woody of self-discovery ahead.
In each likelihood, then, this volition beryllium a modulation play for San Antonio arsenic it starts to fig retired its individuality and however its players acceptable together. After landing the No. 2 pick, the Spurs notably didn't pursuit win-now moves similar a commercialized for Durant. But they besides mightiness person much imaginable for a accelerated emergence successful 2025-26, acknowledgment to Wemby, who's favored to triumph Defensive Player of the Year and marque an All-NBA team.
Last season, the Trail Blazers went 13-28 successful the archetypal fractional of their schedule, past 23-18 successful the 2nd half, arsenic wings Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara emerged arsenic two-way contributors. And by swapping Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday and elevating Donovan Clingan to a starting relation -- a determination that included buying retired Ayton -- Portland affirmed and strengthened its antiaircraft individuality this summer.
It's unclear whether the Simons-less Blazers person capable violative foodstuff to emergence into the play-in ranks, and they'll beryllium counting connected Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe to amusement much maturation successful the backcourt. But for the squad with the West's second-longest playoff drought -- lone the Spurs' is longer -- things are looking up successful Portland.
Tier 5: What's the plan?
1:30
Stephen A. connected Suns' draught night: 'What connected world are the Phoenix Suns doing?'
Stephen A. Smith reacts to the Suns drafting halfway Khaman Maluach and trading for halfway Mark Williams connected draught night.
In 1,121 possessions with Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine sharing the level past season, the Kings had an violative standing of 117.4, per Cleaning the Glass. That's a coagulated mark, ranking successful the 72nd percentile of each lineups leaguewide. But successful those aforesaid possessions, the Kings had a 120.9 antiaircraft rating, which ranked successful the 11th percentile. The Kings person stars, and they're often entertaining -- but they don't person a realistic way toward consistently winning games. Maybe they'd vie for a top-six effect successful the Eastern Conference, but they're not bully capable successful the West.
"What's the plan?" has been a just question to inquire Phoenix for a portion now, and this offseason hasn't offered immoderate meaningful clarification. The Suns didn't get a large instrumentality erstwhile trading Durant, portion simultaneously adding 2 centers connected draught nighttime and inactive lacking immoderate earthy constituent guards oregon powerfulness forwards successful their projected rotation. Devin Booker and Jalen Green could marque for a precise awkward acceptable arsenic a starting backcourt.
Expect the Suns, led by proprietor Mat Ishbia, to support sacrificing the aboriginal to effort to vie successful the present. But don't expect excessively galore existent wins.
One suspects the Pelicans would spot themselves successful a antithetic tier, fixed the aggression with which they approached their offseason moves, astir notably trading an unprotected 2026 first-round prime to determination up 10 spots successful the 2025 draft. And determination is immoderate crushed for anticipation -- mainly, if the Pelicans tin bask amended wellness aft Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones combined for conscionable 103 games past season.
But with CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram gone and Dejounte Murray retired with a torn Achilles, there's besides a batch of flux successful New Orleans, with nary wide semipermanent program to physique a winning roster. Even successful the abbreviated term, it's not arsenic if the Pelicans were world-beaters successful their uncommon moments of wellness past season, arsenic they finished 10-20 erstwhile Williamson played, with a minus-4.3 nett standing erstwhile Williamson and Murphy shared the floor.
On the 1 hand, Lauri Markkanen is inactive successful Utah. The squad wanted to adhd Jusuf Nurkic. And caller president of hoops operations Austin Ainge said successful his introductory quality conference, erstwhile asked astir tanking, "You won't spot that this year."
Yet connected the different hand, Utah shed John Collins, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton this summertime for minimal return; drafted an 18-year-old task successful Ace Bailey; and is projected to play the youngest backcourt successful the league. The Jazz could effort not to vessel and inactive suffer 60-plus games this season, fixed their ain deficiencies and the wide spot crossed the remainder of the West.
