The Western Conference is once again the NBA’s most competitive battleground. While the Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending champions and favorites to repeat as the No. 1 seed, several other teams have made major offseason moves to climb the ladder. The Denver Nuggets, in particular, retooled their roster with smart additions, while the Golden State Warriors face internal distractions with Jonathan Kuminga’s contract. Meanwhile, Houston slides down the board after losing Fred VanVleet for the season.
Here’s how the top eight playoff seeds in the West could shape up in 2025–26.
The defending champs bring back their full core led by MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. With youth, depth, and chemistry on their side, the Thunder are built to dominate the regular season once again. Their only challenge will be living up to the massive expectations that come with being hunted every night.
2. Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokić remains the engine of the Nuggets, but this year, Denver is deeper and more versatile. They added Cam Johnson, a sharpshooting forward who improves spacing around Jokić, and Jonas Valančiūnas, who finally gives Denver a dependable backup center. Veteran scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. joins to provide wing depth, and the return of Bruce Brown restores the grit and defensive edge that fueled their 2023 title run.
These moves make Denver better positioned to support Jokić and Jamal Murray throughout the grind of an 82-game season. If Aaron Gordon can stay healthy and the bench gels quickly, the Nuggets could be the most dangerous team in the West come playoff time.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
Anthony Edwards has emerged as one of the league’s brightest stars, while Rudy Gobert continues to anchor one of the NBA’s best defenses. After back-to-back deep playoff runs, Minnesota has the confidence and experience to challenge anyone. Their biggest hurdle is consistency — but if Edwards takes another leap, they might even surpass Denver in the standings.
4. LA Clippers
The Clippers’ fate now runs through Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. Any team with Harden will be a strong regular-season squad — he racks up assists, controls tempo, and piles up wins from October to April. However, Kawhi hasn’t been healthy in God knows when, and that lack of reliability looms over everything. Without a fully available Kawhi, this Clippers team is talented enough to reach the playoffs, but an early exit feels inevitable once postseason intensity ramps up.
5. Los Angeles Lakers
This version of the Lakers is built around LeBron James and Luka Dončić. Luka has slimmed down, looks sharper, and is in the best shape of his career. Offensively, he’s a brilliant scorer, passer, and ball handler. But there’s always the other side of Luka: the superstar who loves donuts more than he loves playing defense.
If Luka and LeBron can mesh their similar ball-dominant styles together, the Lakers could be one of the surprise teams of the playoffs. That is, of course, until they run into their nemesis — the Denver Nuggets — who have consistently had their number.
6. Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler form a fiery veteran duo, and with Draymond Green still anchoring the defense, Golden State will fight to stay relevant. But looming over their season is the Jonathan Kuminga contract negotiation. The stalled talks are a distraction that could fracture chemistry. By season’s end, either Kuminga or the Warriors may walk away unhappy, creating tension that lingers into the playoffs.
7. Houston Rockets
This is where the Kevin Durant experiment begins — and probably ends. Yes, Durant can still put up big numbers, but those numbers rarely translate into team success anymore. Just ask the Phoenix Suns: he averaged 26 points a game and still missed the playoffs. The year before, his Suns were swept by the Timberwolves.
Durant has become the NBA’s version of empty calories — points that look good on a box score but don’t lead to winning basketball. Add in the fact that he’s almost guaranteed to either get hurt and miss significant time or stick around to pad his stats, and Houston looks more like a Play-In team than a contender. Without Fred VanVleet to run the show, the Rockets’ young core will struggle to find balance.
8. Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks may be one of the most intriguing teams in the West. They drafted Cooper Flagg, who already looks like a future star. Flagg can run the floor, shoot, rebound, and move his feet well for a big man — the kind of modern forward Dallas has been missing.
But the problems start with his supposed sidekick, Anthony Davis, who has a long history of staying hurt. Then there’s the Kyrie Irving situation, where he’s expected to miss the entire season. On paper, a trio of Flagg, AD, and Kyrie could be scary, but seeing those three healthy and together for a long stretch — let alone a playoff run — is a pipe dream.
That’s why Dallas sits at the bottom of this bracket. If by some miracle they’re healthy in May, the Mavericks could upset anyone. But that’s a very big “if.”
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