2026-27 NBA Western Conference Champions Ranked
The West runs through two teams right now, and everyone knows it. Oklahoma City and San Antonio turned last year's Conference Finals into a Game 7 classic, and that rivalry is basically the plot of this whole season.
Below we rank all 8 contenders by how likely they are to actually come out of the West in June. This reflects what forums, betting odds and analysts are saying right now, plus our own read where the debates get messy (looking at you, third-seed argument). Disagree? That's half the fun of November basketball.
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SS Tier: The two-team race
Oklahoma City Thunder
The reigning blueprint for how to build a contender, minus a ring they still want back after losing Game 7 to San Antonio. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander chasing a second straight MVP and Jalen Williams finally healthy again makes this team scarier than the one that lost last spring. Betting markets have them as the single best bet in the West at +200.
About Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are an NBA team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, playing in the Western Conference. Their jerseys primarily use a palette of blue, orange, yellow, and navy, reflecting the state's sunset and thunderstorm imagery.
- Current apparel maker
- Nike
- Home arena
- Paycom Center
- Franchise relocation
- Moved from Seattle (SuperSonics) to Oklahoma City in 2008
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
San Antonio Spurs
Beat the defending champs in a seven-game war and now walk around as the team to beat. Victor Wembanyama is drawing real MVP buzz, and the addition of Tobias Harris gives them more juice up front. No team has repeated as West champ since the 2017-18 Warriors, which is exactly why so many analysts are picking San Antonio to do it anyway.
About San Antonio Spurs
NBA franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, known for a sustained run of success and a low-key brand identity.
- Colors
- Silver and black
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
AA Tier: Legit threats if the stars align
Houston Rockets
The dark-horse pick that keeps gaining believers. Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson have the ceiling to make a real Finals push if the pieces click, and +850 odds suggest the market is starting to buy in too. Still a tier below the top two, but the gap is closing faster than people expected.
About Houston Rockets
NBA franchise based in Houston, Texas, which has gone through several uniform redesigns over the decades.
- Colors
- Red and white
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
Minnesota Timberwolves
Bounces between a 3rd and 6th seed depending on who you ask, which tells you how tightly bunched this group is. They've got the talent to steal a series from anyone in the West, but consistency is the real question mark here, not ceiling.
About Minnesota Timberwolves
NBA franchise based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a wolf-themed identity and northern lights color palette.
- Colors
- Blue and green
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst
Los Angeles Lakers
Some experts have LA as the clear third-best team in the conference, others aren't convinced. Either way, this roster is built to make noise in a playoff series even if the Thunder-Spurs gap feels real. The debate over where exactly they land says more about the West's depth than about the Lakers themselves.
About Los Angeles Lakers
NBA franchise based in Los Angeles, California, one of the league's most decorated teams with multiple championships across different eras.
- Colors
- Purple and gold
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
BB Tier: Good, but capped
Denver Nuggets
Still floating in that 3-to-6 range every forecast seems to argue about. Good enough to win a round, probably not good enough to get through both OKC and San Antonio in the same postseason. A solid team stuck in a conference that stopped being fair to anyone outside the top two.
About Denver Nuggets
NBA franchise based in Denver, Colorado, known for reviving its colorful 1980s throwback uniform as a fan favorite.
- Colors
- Navy and yellow
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
Dallas Mavericks
Year two of Cooper Flagg plus a healthy Kyrie Irving has at least one analyst calling a Mavs play-in berth a hot take worth believing in. That's still just play-in talk, not championship talk, so they land in the middle of the pack for now.
About Dallas Mavericks
NBA franchise based in Dallas, Texas, which shifted its branding toward navy and silver in recent years.
- Colors
- Navy and silver
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
CC Tier: Play-in at best
Phoenix Suns
Regularly penciled into play-in range and nothing more right now. There's no real buzz here, positive or negative, just a team treading water in a conference where the top two have already pulled away by what some are calling a ten-game gap.
About Phoenix Suns
NBA franchise based in Phoenix, Arizona, known for its sunburst-themed uniforms of the 1990s.
- Colors
- Purple and orange
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry can still take over a quarter, and Jimmy Butler gives them a second closer, but the roster around them is thin and aging. They'll make noise in the regular season and maybe a round of the playoffs, but a title run asks for more depth than they've got.
About Golden State Warriors
NBA franchise based in San Francisco, California, known in recent years for championship runs and its distinct Bay Area branding.
- Colors
- Blue and gold
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard's health is the whole season in one sentence. When he's right, this team can hang with anybody, but banking on a full healthy playoff run from him is a bet most of us wouldn't make. James Harden keeps them afloat, but that's a floor, not a ceiling.
About Los Angeles Clippers
NBA franchise based in Los Angeles, California, which has gone through multiple rebrands trying to establish its own identity.
- Colors
- Red and blue
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant and the Grizzlies have the athleticism and pace to beat anyone on a given night, which is exactly why they're frustrating to rank. Too many injuries and too much inconsistency have kept them from stacking the kind of playoff run a title needs.
About Memphis Grizzlies
NBA franchise based in Memphis, Tennessee, known for leaning into local music and culture in its branding.
- Colors
- Teal and navy
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
DD Tier: Long shots
New Orleans Pelicans
Zion Williamson's talent has never been the question, his availability has. Even with Dejounte Murray and the pieces around him, this is a roster that needs a near-perfect health year just to be a real playoff threat, let alone a champion.
About New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are an NBA team based in New Orleans, Louisiana, playing in the Western Conference. Their jerseys feature a color scheme of navy blue, red, gold, and white, with a pelican and fleur-de-lis imagery tied to the city's culture.
- Current apparel maker
- Nike
- Home arena
- Smoothie King Center
- Franchise rename
- Changed from New Orleans Hornets to Pelicans in 2013
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
FF Tier: Not this year
Utah Jazz
The Jazz are still stockpiling lottery picks and cap space, not contending banners. Lauri Markkanen is a nice piece to build around, but this roster is years away from a conference finals run, forget a title.
About Utah Jazz
NBA franchise based in Salt Lake City, Utah, known for its beloved mountain gradient throwback jersey.
- Colors
- Navy, yellow and green
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
Portland Trail Blazers
Young, developing, and nowhere close to ready. Scoot Henderson and the rest of the kids need a lot more seasoning before Portland is anything other than a lottery team with upside.
About Portland Trail Blazers
NBA franchise based in Portland, Oregon, known for a simple, long-running red and black identity.
- Colors
- Red and black
- Conference
- Western
Also ranked in: NBA Teams 2026-27 Ranked Best to Worst, 2026-27 NBA Teams Ranked: Who's Actually a Contender?
How we ranked them
We weighed current betting odds, last season's playoff results, roster health and the general shape of each team's path through the postseason. Teams with a proven Finals run and a healthy star core rank highest. Injury situations, youth and depth behind the top two stars all factor into separating the middle of the pack from the pretenders.
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
Who are the favorites to win the 2026-27 Western Conference?
Oklahoma City and San Antonio are the clear consensus favorites, with OKC at roughly +200 odds and San Antonio close behind at +160, per current betting markets.
Will the Spurs repeat as West champions?
It's a live debate. The Spurs beat the Thunder in a Game 7 last season, but no team has repeated as West champ since the 2017-18 Warriors, which is fueling a lot of skepticism even with Victor Wembanyama's rise.
Are the Houston Rockets a real contender this season?
A growing number of analysts think so. With Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, Houston is being talked about as a legitimate dark horse at +850 odds.
Where do the Lakers and Timberwolves rank in the West?
Both bounce between the 3rd and 6th seed depending on the forecast. There's no consensus on which team is actually the conference's third-best, just general agreement both belong in the playoff mix.
Are the Mavericks or Suns expected to make the playoffs?
Both are mostly projected for play-in range rather than a guaranteed playoff spot. The Mavericks get more optimism thanks to Cooper Flagg's development and Kyrie Irving's return.
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Image credits
- Oklahoma City ThunderPhoto: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- San Antonio SpursPhoto: Frenchieinportland, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Houston RocketsPhoto: Pkantz, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Minnesota TimberwolvesLogo: Wikipedia · Source
- Los Angeles LakersLogo: Wikipedia · Source
- Denver NuggetsPhoto: All-Pro Reels, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Dallas MavericksPhoto: ctsnow, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Phoenix SunsPhoto: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Golden State WarriorsPhoto: Mike D, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Los Angeles ClippersPhoto: LWY, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Memphis GrizzliesPhoto: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- New Orleans PelicansLogo: Wikipedia · Source
- Utah JazzPhoto: Stephanie Young Merzel, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · License · Source
- Portland Trail BlazersPhoto: Portland Trail Blazers, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source