We’re officially in the dog days of one of the most blockbuster summers in NBA history. All of the major transactions have completed and with the dust settled, we can start to frame how each team stacks up. This offseason saw several brand name talents switch teams via trade or free agency, while June’s draft revealed a crop of exciting young players who could define the league’s future. All this movement and activity means many teams across the Association will be charting a new course in 2026-27.
With training camp set to open in less than four weeks, we’re going to look at the landscape of power for each conference, starting with the West. It’s perennially known for being a meat grinder each night, and this season will be no different.
TIER 1 (The Penthouse)
- OKC, SAS
Few would argue the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder sit in a class of their own. Until one of them is defeated in the playoffs by someone other than each other, no team in the west can currently make a claim to join this tier.
Both teams’ cores remain intact, while each fortified their rotation. San Antonio added veteran forward Tobias Harris. At 34, he’s much older than the Spurs’ incredible young group, but he’s a steady hand for scoring and playmaking. OKC hopes to get back former all-star, Jalen Williams at full strength. Last season, Williams missed 49 games due to a hamstring injury, and was limited to playing only five playoff games before being shut down with a wrist injury. They also got bigger upfront by drafting 7’3” center Aday Mara in June, and they look forward to the debut of their 2025 first round selection, 6’10” center Thomas Sorber. He missed all of last season while recovering from an ACL tear.
The Thunder had to part with three good role players in Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins in order to duck below the salary cap’s dreaded 2nd apron tax. However, they do not lack in talent or depth with Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and Jerad McCain able to pick up the slack.
As of today, the road to the NBA Finals in the Western Conference will go through one of these cities. With MVP and DPOY candidates on both sides, its the insanely high ceiling of San Antonio’s young core that tips the scales slightly in their favor. X-factor guard, Dylan Harper, looks poised for a superstar breakout sooner than later. The 20-year-old phenom performed like an experienced vet in the playoffs, and was mostly unfazed by the moment. Harper’s backcourt mate, Stephan Castle was equally focused and tough during his first playoff experience. Oh yeah, and there’s this other guy, a center nicknamed “Wemby”, who appears like a pretty big deal. Victor Wembanyama physically and psychologically abused his OKC counterpart, Chet Holmgren, in the Western Conference Finals. Until proven otherwise, he’s the league’s biggest problem to solve.
Reigning NBA MVP, Shae Gilgeous-Alexander will be poised to lead OKC to a rematch showdown to compete for their second title in three seasons. In San Antonio, Wemby and Co. look to build off their momentum, and steamroll their way to the Larry O’Brien trophy. Just like Highlander, there can only be one.
TIER 2 (Playoff Teams)
- DEN, HOU, MIN, POR
The real debate about the rest of the conference begins here. However, there are four teams based on talent and recent success that I’ve got slotted to be the “real playoff teams” for seeds 3 through 6. I’m listing them alphabetically because they could end up in any order in the final standings.
The Denver Nuggets have had a steady decline since winning the 2023 NBA Championship. They haven’t advanced passed the second round for three seasons (losing in the first round last year), and are currently the only team over the salary cap’s 2nd apron. The only help they added for their core around stalwart superstar center, Nikola Jokic, was signing former all-star Demar Derozan. While still a productive player, Derozan is 37 and winding down. He won’t do much to spread the floor on offense, but can be a good facilitator and clutch scorer. They were financially forced to sign and trade restricted free agent forward, Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a draft pick that’s 5 years away. The Nuggets are relying on Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon to turn back the clock, hoping they can stay healthy enough to remain a formidable core. While several vulnerabilities exist with this roster, having arguably the best player in the world on your team with capable vets assures you a top 6 conference finish.
When Kevin Durant was traded to the Houston Rockets last summer, it signaled the team’s young core was ready to start competing with the conference’s best. After finishing as the 5th seed, they were beat by a short-handed Los Angeles Lakers team missing stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. It left a sour taste on an otherwise solid season, in which the Rockets led the league in rebounding and had the 4th best defensive rating. Veteran help is on the way. Starting point guard Fred Van Vleet returns after missing all of last season after tearing his ACL. Now 32 and in a contract year, FVV will be looking to make an impact with his return. Center Steven Adams played in only 32 games last season, but his return as a defensive specialist and team enforcer will be welcomed.
Houston fortified their backcourt by signing free agents Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic. They also locked up two of their core young players long-term, in Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. Thompson might be the most athletic player in the league who can’t shoot, but he does pretty much everything else at an above average level. Houston rewarded him with a 5-year, $208M deal. Now we wait to see how that ages. The Rockets have a well-rounded blend of impactful young talent and veterans, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them land one of the home court advantage seeds. I can’t see them falling lower than the 6th seed with reasonable health.
In 2024 and 2025, the Minnesota Timberwolves appeared as though they were knocking on the door toward becoming the west’s next elite team. They made back to back conference finals and 23-year-old guard, Anthony Edwards, burst on the scene as one of the new faces of the league. After being surpassed by both Oklahoma City and San Antonio, they felt as though a major shake up was needed. Power forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid were traded away along with control over their first round picks for the next 5 years. In came mercurial star point guard, LaMelo Ball from Charlotte, to create an explosive backcourt with Edwards. They also cleared enough money to re-sign reserve spark plug free agent Ayo Dosunmu.
The T-Wolves got smaller in the process, and the experiment with Melo and Ant comes with a lot of questions. There is one ball for two playmakers who like to have it in their hands a lot. The talent at hand make their pairing an exciting one, but the egos could become volatile if things don’t go as planned. You have to commend the front office for trying a different look vs running back most the same group of the past 3 seasons. They even won the Jonathan Kuminga sweepstakes! Talent, coaching, and Edwards’ superstar shine will keep Minnesota in the top 6 for the ‘26-’27 season.
Look for the Portland Trail Blazers to build off winning last season’s Play-In Tournament, by securing one of the middle seeds. Forward Deni Avdija developed into a Top 20 player and became a first time all-star. His player profile is a desirable one: a 6’9” unselfish point forward, who operates as a one man fast break, and plays solid defense. He’s incredibly difficult to stop going to the rim, and it led to him ranking 3rd in the league for free throw attempts. At 26, Deni is just entering his prime and has an intriguing cast surrounding him.
The much maligned Ja Morant was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies for peanuts, as Portland’s big offseason move. He’s only 27 and four seasons removed from being in the league’s MVP conversation. Off court problems and injuries have stagnated his career, so this was a low risk, high reward move by the Blazers. Portland also welcomes back its favorite son, superstar point guard Damian Lillard. Lillard is coming off a rehab year after tearing his achilles tendon in the spring of 2025. His summer workouts are showing his deep ball is as deadly as ever. The real mystery is what he looks like athletically at age 36 (coming off a serious leg injury) in the heat of NBA combat. His ability to be the sniper to Deni and Ja’s heat seeking missile rim attacks, should make their offense among the league’s best. After finishing last season ranked 21st in offensive rating, expect a jump into the Top 10.
The good defense led by Donovan Clingan, Jrue Holiday, Toumani Camara, and Robert Williams III (retained on a team friendly deal), will be challenged to make up for its diminutive, yet offensively explosive backcourt. Former #3 overall draft pick point guard, Scoot Henderson is in a tenuous spot going into his rookie extension/restricted free agent year. He’s got two future hall of famers and a former all-star in his prime, directly in his way.
Even with wing Shaedon Sharpe going down last week for at least 6 months with a torn meniscus, this backcourt is loaded with good players who need both the ball and minutes. New head coach, Micah Nori, comes with a wealth of experience that will be put to the test. Finding the right guard pairings in the right situations to optimize the team’s two-way ability will define how good this team can be. The overall potential of its considerable talent coming together gives the Blazers the nod over the rest of the teams in the conference. It’s a hungry squad.
TIER 3 (Play-In Teams)
- DAL, GSW, LAL, NOP, PHX, UTH
The Dallas Mavericks are a team in transition. Teenage phenom and last year’s top pick, forward Cooper Flagg reset the team’s timeline. They will be getting All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving back after he missed all of last season after knee surgery. The 15-year age gap between the team’s two best players will make for some interesting games. First year head coach, Dusty May takes the reins in Big D, fresh off winning the national championship with the University of Michigan. Along with him comes the #9 overall first round pick, Morez Johnson Jr. Dallas also landed 2024 number one overall pick, small forward Zaccharie Risarcher, in a trade just by acting as a facilitator. This will be an interesting team to watch, but will be very inconsistent night to night.
Jimmy Butler isn’t scheduled to return to the Golden State Warriors until February. That leaves the legendary Steph Curry to do most of the heavy lifting for the first half of the season. Draymond Green came back on the same one-year deal he opted out of when the team thought it had a chance to sign Lebron James. Oft injured big man Kristaps Porzingis is trying his best to remain a viable third option. The biggest highlight of Golden State’s offseason was drafting Michigan star, Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th pick. He should be in position to see a lot of playing time, and is ready to contribute immediately. The last vestiges of a great modern dynasty will likely crumble after this season. Once Butler returns, the race will be on for them to finish strong. However, making the top 6 would take a miracle. Finishing in the 8-11 range feels like a realistic destiny.
Lebron James told the Los Angeles Lakers he was moving on, and it helped open up almost $50 million in cap space. With superstar point guard, Luka Doncic the lone face of the franchise, the Lakers spent all of their cap space in a span of an hour and a half. Instead of chasing a second superstar to pair with Doncic, they chose to surround him with a sensible supporting cast. It started by re-signing their surprise breakout shooting guard, Austin Reaves to a whopping 4-year, $180 million contract extension. They then wanted to get a defensive anchor in the middle, and traded most of what was left of their next 5 years of draft picks to the Utah Jazz for center Walker Kessler, in a sign-and-trade. After that it was a rapid fire of free agent signings: guards Colin Sexton and Quinten Grimes, and stretch forward Sandro Mamukelashvili. Instead of going for a Lamborghini, the Lakers bought a bunch of Volvos. They are a safe Play-In bet, and could crack the top 6 if the team gels, and another team or two above them falters.
The New Orleans Pelicans mostly sat on their hands this offseason. Their big splash came last week, when they signed free agent guard, Benedict Mathurin. There was a lot of noise around the Pelicans this summer as their starting small forward, Trey Murphy III, was one of the hottest names in the trade rumor mill. After finishing 26-56, and surrendering the #8 pick in the draft to the Atlanta Hawks, the Pels front office felt good enough about running back virtually the same team. One change that should be beneficial is getting a full season from former all-star point guard, Dejounte Murray. After recovering from an achilles tear, he only suited up for 14 games last season. As always, the big question with New Orleans is: what can be expected by Zion Williamson? While this team has a lot of talent, it seems to prove each year that its parts are better than the sum of them. This is a pivotal year, as new head coach Jamahl Mosley tries to instill a new identity. Making the Play-In Tournament and snagging one of the final two playoff spots would be a good goal for this group. Failing to reach the Play-In likely results in taking a sledgehammer to the roster.
What a difference a couple seasons make for the Phoenix Suns. Two years ago they were over the second apron, paying an exorbitant salary tax bill while trying to win a championship with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. That team finished in an embarrassing 11th place. Now only Booker remains, and he’s surrounded by a lot of scrappy, rangy wings. The team is still over the tax, but under the second apron, and could duck under the tax with the right salary shaving trade by the deadline. The Suns were humbled after trying to win a title by purchasing a super team, and the current group has more of a blue collar identity. Phoenix resigned their three incumbent free agents: point guards, Colin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin and center Mark Williams. They also traded for forward Miles Bridges, a solid scorer and rebounder. Phoenix is nowhere close to contention, but they aren’t bad either. Booker is locked in for four more seasons, and is deeply embedded into the organization and community. Finding the right talent to put around him is still a work in progress, therefore I can’t grant them access above a seven seed.
The Utah Jazz have spent the past four seasons as a bottom feeder in the western conference. This should be the season they finally rise out it after what feels like a never ending tank job. They’ve assembled a fair amount of to go around star forward, Lauri Markennan. Their offseason started at last year’s trade deadline, when they traded for defensive stud, Jaren Jackson Jr. He only played in 3 games after the trade, so this season will be his true debut. The yin yang frontcourt pairing of these two will be an interesting development to watch. Utah also landed the #2 pick in June’s draft and selected the uber talented combo guard, Darryn Peterson. Some have said he’ll become the best player from the deep 2026 class. The competition for rookie of the year will be fierce, but I’m expecting Peterson’s name to be among the finalists. He’ll form a new backcourt with Keyonte George, which could become the best they’ve had since Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell. Second-year pro, Ace Bailey is expected to take a leap as well, giving the Jazz another versatile scorer. During this long rebuild, they’ve developed some nice supporting young talent for depth in Isaiah Collier, Brice Sensabaugh, and Kyle Filipowski. This team has some nice pieces, but it still needs to come together as a functional unit. This should be a telling year for which direction Utah is heading.
Tier 4 (Lotto Bound)
- LAC, MEM, SAC
The Los Angeles Clippers are in a freefall back into purgatory, where they resided for decades. Last week, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the penalties to the franchise for its role in facilitating illegal sponsorship money funneled to star player Kawhi Leonard. It was deemed to be an active attempt to circumvent the league’s salary cap. The financial portion of the fines was a relative slap on the wrist. Silver followed that jab with a nasty hook, knocking out the Clippers’ first round picks in 2029 through 2033, cutting off a major roster building tool for 5 seasons. Leonard, who’s in the process of being traded to Toronto, is escaping this mess with only a $700K fine. Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick are headed to the Clips in the exchange. They did sign sweet shooting forward, Rui Hachimura, and drafted guard, Keaton Wagler with the #5 overall pick. Point guard Darius Garland should get long look the next couple of seasons to determine if he’s a building block or should be traded for future assets. With a dark cloud cast over the team’s future, the Clippers could be among the most active teams at the trade deadline looking to find draft picks for their talent.
The Memphis Grizzlies might be the only happy story at the bottom of the conference. They officially turned the page on the Ja Morant Era, by ushering in a fresh start with a new franchise player. Memphis took Duke freshman forward sensation, Cameron Boozer, with the #3 overall pick. The 6’10” Boozer can do a little of everything, and plays with a poise well beyond his years. At 19, he already has a NBA body when most teens are still scrawny compared to the men of the league. The last two big forwards to come out of Duke (Flagg and Paulo Banchero) won the ROY and became the immediate focal points of their teams. Boozer has landed in an ideal situation to follow in their footsteps. The other player to watch this season is second-year shooting guard, Cedric Coward. At 23, Coward is an incredible 6’6” athlete who can shoot from deep, rebound well, and be a defensive menace. If there’s an internal candidate to be the Robin to Boozer’s Batman, its Coward. Memphis has quietly stocked a massive warchest of draft picks over the next four seasons to accelerate their build if Boozer pops quickly.
When it comes to the saddest story in the NBA, it might just be the Sacramento Kings. A few seasons ago, they were “lighting the beam”, and getting back to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. Instead of building off that momentum, they now find themselves back in the basement with a long road back to competitiveness. Starting center Domantas Sabonis is on the trade block after an injury plagued season, and recent reports have suggested the team isn’t interested in extending him. Shooting guard, Zach Lavine, is another experienced and productive veteran, whose dealt with injury issues while on a massive contract. These two not only clog a bunch of cap space (roughly $90M combined), but are not great defenders. The rest of the team is a hodgepodge of limited ceiling young players and vets. A lot of hope is being placed in rookie point guard, Darius Acuff Jr., Sac’s #7 overall draft. An adept scorer and playmaker, Acuff Jr. is undersized and takes on the oversized mission of being the player to help turn the tide for a new generation. The team signed Ben Simmons recently for another attempt at a comeback. It’s got to be hard being a fan of this team when you know where you’re going to end up before the season even begins. All this team can do this season is work towards getting its salary cap in order, trade off their vets for some draft capital, and hope they can have better luck drafting to build a competent new core group.
That about wraps it up for the Western Conference. We’ll drop the Eastern Conference hierarchy later this week. In the meantime, chime in with your thoughts in the comments on how the west will be won and where the power resides.
