More than a third of the way through the NBA regular season, several notable trends have developed, including the brilliance of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the disaster that is the New Orleans Pelicans.
Here are grades for every Western Conference team. Teams are listed in order of record through Thursday’s games. All statistics are also through Thursday.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (28-5): A+
With the league’s best net rating (plus-12.2 per 100 possessions) and, by far, the best defensive rating (102.8), the Thunder are everything their fans could have hoped for and then some. It’s basketball heaven in OKC. Most impressive is that they’ve done this despite only having Chet Holmgrem for 10 games and Isaiah Hartenstein for 18.
2. Memphis Grizzlies (23-11): A
Many wondered whether Ja Morant’s off-court issues had prematurely closed Memphis’ championship window before it had fully opened. However, his woes merely delayed it. The Grizzlies are running teams off the court with the fastest pace in the league and fifth-best net rating (plus-8.2 per 100 possessions).
3. Houston Rockets (22-11): A
The Rockets are elite defensively (second in defensive rating, 105.8) and an average offensive team (13th in offensive rating, 112.5). Houston’s development as a young team is ahead of schedule and it has the assets to make a push at contending for a title this season.
4. Denver Nuggets (19-13): B-
Nikola Jokic is still the best player in the world, and the Nuggets are even getting decent contributions from two of their biggest X-factor players (Christian Braun and Russell Westbrook). That said, something seems a little off with Denver, which has lost to the lowly Trail Blazers, Pelicans and Wizards.
5. Dallas Mavericks (20-14): B
The defending Western Conference champs have faced plenty of adversity with various injuries to superstar Luka Doncic, who has already missed 12 games and is on the shelf for at least a month with a calf injury. No worries, though, because Kyrie Irving is playing at an All-NBA level and the rest of their roster is full of playoff players.
6. Los Angeles Lakers (19-14): B
The Lakers are one of the streakier teams in the league — they have a six-game winning streak and two three-game losing streaks. The trade of D’Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith will be a major defensive upgrade and may bring more consistency as the team aims to move up in the standings.
7. Los Angeles Clippers (19-15): A-
Left for dead after yet another Kawhi Leonard knee injury during the summer, the Clippers are one of the league’s best surprises. James Harden is still a good offensive engine (21.9 PPG, 7.8 APG), Norman Powell is having a career year (23.6 PPG) and Ty Lue has a team of tough-minded, two-way players playing their best.
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (17-16): C
The Karl Anthony-Towns-for-Julius Randle-and-Donte DiVincenzo trade has not gone well for the T’Wolves, whose top-ranked defense from last season has dropped off significantly. Plus, the offense is not playing as well as last season. Randle is a good player who, like we’ve seen with Russell Westbrook over the years, might have too many warts in his game to be one of the top players on a title team.
9. Golden State Warriors (17-16): C+
The Warriors are sputtering, so their front office should trade a bunch of their young prospects and draft picks and do right by Stephen Curry. There’s a home run swing of a trade out there for them that they should strongly consider: Zion Williamson for Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton Jr. and unprotected 2025 and 2027 first-round picks.
10. San Antonio Spurs (17-16): A-
Victor Wembanyama is making The Leap that only Hall of Famer-level players make this early in their careers, and the Spurs are already competing for a playoff spot. San Antonio could make things very interesting this season by making a trade for one of the stars on the market (De’Aaron Fox, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jimmy Butler), as they have the assets and roster flexibility few other teams do.
11. Phoenix Suns (15-17): D
The truth is it’s tough to win games when your highest-paid players have trouble staying on the court. The Suns are a tough matchup when Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal play, but that trio has played fewer than 200 minutes together this season. For reference, their most commonly used three-man lineup (Booker-Tyus Jones-Royce O’Neale) has played over 360 minutes together).
12. Sacramento Kings (15-19): D
Underscored by their handling of the firing of head coach Mike Brown, the Kings are a clown show of an organization. Sacramento should trade De’Aaron Fox, tank and try for a quick reboot with the loaded 2025 draft class.
13. Portland Trail Blazers (11-22): B-
The Blazers are having a solid season. Plus, some of their young players are flashing potential while the team loses enough to ensure decent lottery odds. Look for them to trade Jerami Grant, Robert Williams and others to ensure the latter.
14. Utah Jazz (7-25): C+
Unlike the previous two seasons, the Jazz are in no way flirting with the play-in tournament this season, opting instead to focus on the development of second-year point guard Keyonte George and other youngsters. That’s going OK , and they’ll be able to pick up future assets at the trade deadline, but the regression of Lauri Markkanen is concerning (19.5 PPG with 42.9-35.8-89.1 shooting splits).
15. New Orleans Pelicans (5-29): F
This is the season from hell for the Pelicans. Injuries have plagued them — Yves Missi, Brandon Boston Jr. and Javonte Green are first, second and fifth in minutes played this season — and it looks as though the Zion Williamson era will soon be over in New Orleans.
