1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2025-26 record: 64-18, 1st in the Northwest, lost to Spurs in Western Conference finals
Head coach: Mark Daigneault, 7th season (275-207)
Coming and going: The reality of the salary cap has begun to water down the Thunder, who traded key rotation pieces Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe to remain financially responsible. Technically, getting Jalen Williams back from wrist and hamstring issues doesn’t count as a “coming,” but don’t tell that to Thunder fans who point to his absence as the primary reason they won’t be hoisting another banner on opening night.
Number to crunch: Call it an NBA fan’s lucky 11 — the number of times the Thunder could face the Spurs this season, including a possible duel in the NBA Cup final and seven more glorious matchups in the playoffs. Reserve your couch spots now. It starts on Tuesday in Texas.
Breakout player: Likely a strength in numbers will be called upon to fortify the bench this season, so take your pick. Third-year guard Jared McCain was a far more productive player for Oklahoma City than Philadelphia last season, and why wouldn’t that upward trend continue with 4,770 more minutes available?
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
2025-26 record: 49-33, 3rd in the Northwest, lost to Spurs in Western Conference semifinals
Head coach: Chris Finch, 7th season (258-193)
Coming and going: Talk about a team going all-out to win … LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga in the same recruiting class? Yikes. It’s hard to believe a conference semifinalist ever imported more firepower during the subsequent offseason. Sure, Julius Randle and Naz Reid are gone, but throw in late-season acquisition Ayo Dosunmu and Anthony Edwards hasn’t been surrounded by so much talent since the Olympics.
Numbers to crunch: Let’s play NBA Jeopardy. In the category of Underrated People with Gray Hair, the answer is 572 to 571. We’re guessing you know the question somehow involves Timberwolves coach Chris Finch, but … bzzz, time’s up. The official question is, what’s the career winning-percentage advantage Finch, a one-time NBA Coach of the Month, owns over the Thunder’s Mark Daigneault, a five-time winner (and 2023-24 Coach of the Year)? Yeah, there’s no way you got that.
Breakout player: Jaden McDaniels has earned a reputation as one of the league’s top defensive players. You know, kinda like Jaylen Brown. But Brown didn’t get a chance to spread his wings offensively until Jayson Tatum got hurt, and now Brown is considered one of the NBA’s best all-around players. Give McDaniels, a 51.5% shooter and 41.2% 3-point marksman last season, even a third of the shots that Randle used to take and this guy could explode.
3. Denver Nuggets
2025-26 record: 54-28, 2nd in the Northwest, lost to Timberwolves in Western Conference first round
Head coach: David Adelman, 3rd season with the Nuggets (57-28)
Coming and going: The Nuggets chose to keep Aaron Gordon, who’s always hurt; Cam Johnson, a constant reminder of how good Michael Porter Jr. has turned out to be, and Christian Braun, whose monster extension eventually cost the team Peyton Watson. Is it any wonder Nikola Jokic hasn’t agreed to a contract extension?
Numbers to crunch: Counting the postseason, Jokic accumulated 51.0% of all Nuggets points, rebounds and assists last season. Only the Lakers’ Luka Doncic (49.5%) came close to matching that rate.
Breakout player: The Nuggets are desperate for a breakout player because the usual suspects haven’t gotten it done in recent years. Zeke Nnaji, once considered to be a high-ceiling prospect like Watson, will get a chance to prove the reason he has yet to succeed was because the similarly skilled Watson stood in his way.
4. Portland Trail Blazers
2025-26 record: 42-40, 4th in the Northwest, lost to Spurs in Western Conference first round
Head coach: Micah Nori, 1st season (0-0)
Coming and going: The most intriguing addition is 17-year assistant coach Nori, who has a unique challenge in filling the big shoes of an interim coach. That’s because Tiago Splitter, with no head-coaching experience, turned an unwanted promotion (replacing suspended Chauncey Billups) into a seventh-place finish in the Coach of the Year balloting. The addition of Ja Morant (from Memphis) and Damian Lillard (from injury) to an up-and-coming roster gives Nori an opportunity to trump even Splitter’s success. The explosion of Deni Avdija into an All-Star player made Jerami Grant, part of the trade package for Morant, expendable.
Number to crunch: 2,005. That’s the total number of assists for Portland point guards Morant, Lillard, Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson in their career-high seasons. As a team, the Clippers had fewer last season. Will one basketball be enough?
Breakout player: As mentioned above, the Trail Blazers are flush with guards, and with Avdija and Toumani Camara, they have a pair of outstanding wings. All they need is a big guy. If 7-foot Branden Carlson was good enough to earn 11.6 minutes a game from the Thunder as a second-year player last season, he could be Portland’s next Most Improved Player candidate.
5. Utah Jazz
2025-26 record: 22-60, 5th in the Northwest, didn’t make playoffs
Head coach: Will Hardy, 5th season (107-221)
Coming and going: Investing $34 million in Jusuf Nurkic and Jaxson Hayes, re-upping with Keyonte George for $157.5 million and using the No. 2 pick on Darryn Peterson rather than cashing it in for future draft capital are all signs the Jazz want to be taken seriously this season. Big men Nurkic and Hayes replace Walker Kessler, who was dealt to the Lakers for — you guessed it — draft capital.
Numbers to crunch: Peterson has been No. 2 before. It didn’t go well. The consensus No. 2 prep prospect in the country in 2025, the Ohio native battled injuries and posted as many turnovers as assists in a disappointing single season at Kansas. Utah clearly trusts the hype over the stats.
Breakout player: Being surrounded by George, Peterson, Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. should help Kyle Filipowski relive his Duke glory days after having spent two seasons surrounded by Duquesne-level talent. The sturdy big man flashed his potential in his final week last season with 25-and-12 and 20-and-14 games.
