The Western Conference has been the NBA's superior half for a while, but that might be shifting. The West has two elite teams at the top who are among the favorites to challenge for a championship, but after that, there's a grab bag of playoff and play-in teams that could shake out in any number of ways. On Thursday, we revealed our preseason Eastern Conference tiers.
And with the season set to begin next week, here's our first installment of Western Conference tiers. This is how it figures to shape up for at least the next half-decade. Maybe Oklahoma City isn't scared, but having to battle the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama until further notice just to get out of the West can't be what anyone was hoping for.
After the Thunder won the title two years ago, the Spurs skipped the line and defeated the Thunder in last year's Western Conference Finals, sending the then-defending champs home. Jalen Williams was unavailable for much of the regular and postseason, but he's ostensibly healthy now. Chet Holmgren didn't acquit himself well against Wembanyama in the postseason (then again, few did), but he still made All-NBA and finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year race.
And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning two-time MVP. The top-tier talent in OKC is significant, and it's bolstered by the NBA's deepest supporting cast. Three useful rotation pieces in Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins are gone, and no one in OKC will blink.
Cason Wallace, Ajay Mitchell and Jared McCain, last season's trade deadline reclamation project, are more than capable of filling those gaps. As always, coach Mark Daigneault is spoiled for options. The Thunder can match up with any team in the league and beat you in more ways.
The Spurs are way ahead of schedule after reaching the NBA Finals for the first time in nine years. Coughing up several massive leads, including a 29-point meltdown in Game 4, on their way to losing in five games to the Knicks is probably not how they wanted it to go. And yet the present and future are bright in San Antonio.
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