The ultimate version of Ballislife’s division preview collection dives into the NBA’s Northwest Division, headlined by the defending champion Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder. With OKC’s reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, and Minnesota’s future MVP in Anthony Edwards, it’s arduous to think about one other division in all of sports activities, a lot much less basketball, than this one.
Will the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder grow to be the primary group in practically a decade to go back-to-back? Will Jokic reclaim his place because the NBA’s perennial Most Priceless Participant, or will Edwards lastly make the leap from an incredible participant to a transcendent expertise?
Projected Order Of End/Document:
Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder – 61-21
Denver Nuggets – 51-31
Minnesota Timberwolves – 50-32
Portland Path Blazers – 38-43
Utah Jazz – 20-62
Final season: 68-14
Predicted 2025-26 report: 61-21
Tier: Again-to-Again threats
Write up: With how dominant the reigning champion Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder regarded final season, it is likely to be arduous to consider they’re simply starting to scratch the floor of their potential. Nonetheless, the youngest title-winning group by common age because the 1971 Portland Path Blazers is retaining primarily all key items for the upcoming season whereas additionally including 2024 No. 12 general choose Nikola Matter, who missed all of final season with a Torn ACL.
Whereas I do count on some regression to their win whole, that may primarily be as a result of they now perceive the grind of an extended playoff run and received’t be prioritizing regular-season accomplishments. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might be proper again within the MVP award race, and Chet Holmgren is poised to make a big leap in his third wholesome season within the league.
It’s arduous to think about anybody within the Western Convention, except for Denver, giving the Thunder any kind of significant problem within the playoffs once more this upcoming season, and my cash would definitely be on an improved OKC roster in that rematch (extra on that within the playoff preview).
A dynasty is budding within the Nice Plains, and 2025-26 already presents effectively for the Thunder’s back-to-back bid.
Denver Nuggets
Final season: 50-32
Predicted 2025-26 report: 53-39
Tier: Jokić makes anybody a contender
Write up: We will wax poetic about Nikola Jokić all day. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could have received the MVP award final season, however you could possibly simply as legitimately argue that it ought to have been Jokić’s trophy for a staggering fourth time in 5 seasons. The purpose is, irrespective of the place that trophy is, the very best participant in basketball is the 7-foot equestrian-obsessed Serbian who performs within the Mile Excessive Metropolis.
Whilst you can’t talk about Denver with out beginning with the maestro in Jokic, one other plus for the franchise is that it managed to clean its palms of maybe the worst contract within the NBA in Michael Porter Jr. by sending him to Brooklyn. It price Denver a 2032 first-round choose, however additionally they acquired Cameron Johnson in return, in order that they nonetheless have a participant coming in who can contribute within the position MPJ wasn’t very helpful in, particularly in the course of the playoffs.
The Nuggets are usually going to hover across the 50-to-55 win mark so long as they’ve Jokic. It could take some fairly favorable well being throughout the board for them to threaten to interrupt 60 wins, however like this group proved within the second spherical towards the eventual champion Thunder, they are going to at all times be one of many hardest groups within the league to eradicate so long as they’ve their demigod.
Final season: 49-33
Predicted 2025-26 report: 50-32
Tier: Not a group you wish to see within the playoffs
Write up: Just like the Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves confirmed in the course of the playoffs that no matter they do within the common season is basically moot so long as they get to the dance. After buying and selling Karl Anthony-Cities to the Knicks forward of final season, a sluggish begin had most pundits throughout the league working beneath the idea that Minnesota had made a deadly mistake whereas trying to bolster the roster round Anthony Edwards.
A visit to the Western Convention Finals for the second straight 12 months, once more led by Edwards and this time with out Cities, proved the Timberwolves will stay within the combine so long as the celebrity affectionately often known as “Ant-Man” is in command. Minnesota prolonged key contributors Julius Randle and Naz Reid this summer season, and the franchise has a robust veteran presence with Mike Conley and defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert that enhances the youth motion effectively with out actually falling sufferer to the “two timelines” nonsense that has plagued another franchises.
A 3rd straight journey to the Western Convention Finals wouldn’t essentially shock me, however I believe the playoff draw might be extra favorable for the Nuggets this 12 months in that their heavyweight bout towards Oklahoma Metropolis probably received’t be occurring within the second spherical once more. Which means the Timberwolves will in all probability be met with a more durable second-round opponent than the Golden State group they confronted largely with out Stephen Curry this previous postseason.
Final season: 36-46
Predicted 2025-26 report: 38-43
Tier: Approaching mediocrity
Write up: The Portland Path Blazers received’t be near the playoff race this season, however they do have some reliable items to construct round in gamers like Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, and second-team All-Defensive group member Toumani Camara. The Scoot Henderson experiment hasn’t been very fruitful, nevertheless, because the once-considered-prodigious level guard might be held out for the primary month or two of the common season with a torn hamstring.
Portland made some offseason headlines by reuniting with former franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard, although Lillard’s position with the group this season will primarily be rehabbing and offering steering for the Path Blazers’ younger roster as he makes his means again from an Achilles’ tendon rupture suffered in Sport 4 of Milwaukee’s first-round loss to Indiana in April.
I believe we’ll see a small enchancment in win whole, however this group remains to be a season or two and some items away from sneaking into the play-in spherical. Particularly in a Western Convention that’s shaping as much as be fairly deep this season, when it comes to groups that would doubtlessly end with 45+ wins.
Final season: 17-65
Predicted 2025-26 report: 20-62
Tier: Nonetheless dangerous
Write up: The Utah Jazz managed to get No. 6 general choose Ace Bailey to report regardless of some early hardball from Bailey and his agent, Sharife Cooper.
An excellent signal for the Jazz forward of the upcoming common season is that Bailey parted methods with Cooper as his illustration, so maybe there might be an sudden stage of buy-in from the previous Rutgers star, who was presumably getting some dangerous recommendation upon his transition to the NBA.
Other than Bailey, the Jazz are nonetheless in purgatory with the Lauri Markkanen scenario. Markkanen is a participant who might legitimately put an already contending playoff group over the sting, however his presence in Utah is nearly a hindrance, because the group’s failure to commerce him has meant that they’ve additionally didn’t land the haul of belongings that buying and selling a participant of Markkanen’s stature would yield.
I do count on Markkanen will get someplace with a brighter outlook in some unspecified time in the future earlier than the deadline, and I’ve a tough time seeing this Jazz group crossing the 20-win mark.
