NBA training camp is under way, and for the first time in a while, it looks as though the Western Conference has some competition out east. While several great players made their way over to the opposite conference, the West still looks just as scary as past years, with some fresh faces and young, hungry teams gaining more experience since last year’s bloodbath playoff stretch. Let’s look at how the top eight teams stack up against each other and rank one of the most intriguing Western Conferences in years.
8 – Portland Trail Blazers
Squeezing into the eighth seed are the newly built Portland Trail Blazers, who are in the midst of a nice roster turnaround with a ton to look forward to. The team brought back franchise legend Damian Lillard after a brutal Achilles injury sidelined him all of last season. The former All-NBA guard is 36, coming off a major injury, so expectations for him to even be close to his former self aren’t realistic, but that’s not why the team brought him in. He’s making $13 million annually, a far cry from what he’s used to, so if the team can even get him to be a spark plug off the bench and show some flashes here and there, that would be a surefire win.
Staying in the backcourt, Portland is also welcoming Ja Morant after an ugly end to his tenure with the Memphis Grizzlies. Morant’s play has stagnated over the last few years, along with off-court issues and injuries that turned off countless teams from trading for him. That said, the Murray State product might need a fresh start to rejuvenate his career and once again blossom into the explosive, charismatic point guard he once was.
The rest of the team is very solid, with Deni Avdija leading the charge after an impressive 2025/26 campaign, plus other rotational pieces that can help this team make serious noise in the regular season.
7 – Phoenix Suns
The Suns finally got rid of the league’s worst contract in Bradley Beal, opening up the floor for some young talent to shine alongside the team’s all-time leading scorer, Devin Booker.
While the burden of that Beal contract is lifted, the team still lacks a piece or two to be taken seriously in a top-heavy conference like the West. Even when Kevin Durant was in Phoenix, the team just didn’t click. It might take another Chris Paul-type point guard to bring this team over the hump, but even then, they would still need an influx of better role players to make that work.
The Suns are still a very capable team with some promising young players, such as Khaman Maluach, who has the potential to be an all-star centre in this league very soon.
For now, this team will likely finish around the play-in, looking at teams that are just more established than them.
6 – Houston Rockets
There’s something about Kevin Durant’s stint with the Rockets that tells me this team won’t go very far under his command.
Houston has done everything right in securing young talent, including extending Amen Thompson to a five-year, $208 million deal and locking up the All-NBA defender for the foreseeable future. Along with Alperen Şengün and Reed Sheppard, this team has three very promising youngsters in all of basketball, it’s just a matter of if they can put it all together at the right time.
Both Durant and Şengün have been criticized over the past two seasons for their inability to play winning basketball down the stretch of playoff games, ultimately leading Head Coach Ime Udoka to make some tough decisions lately.
Fred VanVleet is now back after his season-long injury last year, hopefully providing that consistent point guard play that the team needed when they signed him two seasons ago.
Houston still has a ton of talent from top to bottom, but they’ll have to beat the OKC’s and San Antonio’s of the world to reach their ultimate goal.
5 – Denver Nuggets
During the Jokic era, the Nuggets are basically guaranteed a top five finish in the conference no matter what their roster looks like. Nuggets fans, be careful, though; this team looks a bit slimmer than in past years.
As of Sept. 25, Denver’s only centre on the roster is Jokic, which is concerning, considering the team’s weakness over the past decade has been finding time to fit in another big man behind the Serbian superstar.
It’ll be interesting to see how Demar Derozan plays in this system. While Debo won’t give them much on the defensive end, he’s proven that, even with age, his scoring prowess remains just as deadly year after year.
What the team needs the most, however, is a bounce-back season from Christian Braun. The Kansas product had a strange 2025/26 campaign that saw him play like a shell of himself, coming off some great years riding a championship victory. Not to say that the team’s season is make-or-break based on Braun, but if they want to compete for a title, they’re going to need him at his best when they need him most.
4 – Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves pulled off two of the best acquisitions of the offseason, bringing in both LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga. The two players had been struggling with their teams: Ball with the Hornets, who couldn’t make the playoffs with him at the helm, and Kuminga, who felt held back by the Warriors’ and Hawks’ coaching staff.
Anthony Edwards and Ball will be one of the most exciting backcourts in the NBA; both have arguably the most colourful personalities and playstyles in the league. This will be Ball’s first time playing with a superstar-calibre player, which could help a new level of his game emerge as he becomes more active off the ball as a secondary option.
Kuminga comes to this team with a lot to prove. He finally got out of the Bay and played for another team, the Hawks, where he flourished as a free-roaming athlete who made his mark around the rim and on the defensive end. Now on a contending team, Kuminga will have to show that he can play a winning brand of basketball.
A Rudy Gobert-and-Kuminga defensive line will be something to watch, and if the rest of the team can maintain a consistent offence throughout the regular season, this team could finally get over the hump and reach the NBA Finals.
3 – Los Angeles Lakers
Luka Dončić now has full reign over the Lakers after LeBron James’ offseason departure to Philadelphia. Not to say James was holding the team back; however, the floor is now open to players like Austin Reaves, who can take an even bigger leap with more offensive responsibility.
This team also brought in several key role players, including Colin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Walker Kessler. The latter is arguably the most important pickup of the summer, finally giving the Lakers a competent centre who can play sound defence.
If everything goes to plan, this might be the year Dončić wins his long-awaited first M.V.P. trophy if the Lakers finish as a top two seed.
2 – San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have only gotten more dangerous with another year in the league under the belts of Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle after their finals run last year.
Tobias Harris is now a Spur, further adding depth to an already stacked roster with young talent oozing everywhere. The only thing stopping the Spurs is themselves. The team’s ceiling is limitless; they just need another deep playoff run to find their footing.
1 – Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder have a huge chip on their shoulders after a disappointing conference final exit last year to a much less experienced Spurs team.
They still rank number one with the reigning M.V.P. and company as the best overall team in the league. There’s not much to say about the Thunder.