The NBA Western Conference is basically a meat grinder this year. Honestly, if you haven’t checked the nba standings west conference in the last week, you might not even recognize the top of the ladder. We are officially past the midway point of the 2025-26 season—it’s January 16, 2026—and the hierarchy is getting weird.
Oklahoma City isn't just "good" anymore. They are terrifying. The Thunder currently sit at 34-7, boasting a .829 winning percentage that feels like a glitch in the Matrix.
The Thunder’s Absolute Grip on the Top Spot
Usually, by January, the cream rises to the top, but the Thunder have risen so high they're practically in orbit. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is playing like a guy who already has the MVP trophy on his mantelpiece, but it’s the depth that’s killing teams. They have a point differential of +14. That is absurd.
They’ve won 35 games already. To put that in perspective, the second-place Denver Nuggets are a full 6.5 games back. That kind of cushion in the West is unheard of. Coach Mark Daigneault has these guys playing a brand of positionless basketball that makes traditional lineups look like relics.
While OKC cruises, the fight for the number two spot is a total mess. We have the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs locked in a dead heat. Both teams have 28 wins. Denver has the championship pedigree with Jokic still being Jokic, but the Spurs? That’s where things get interesting.
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Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs’ Massive Leap
If you told me a year ago the Spurs would be sitting at second in the nba standings west conference by mid-January, I’d have asked to see your parlay slip. But here we are. Victor Wembanyama has officially entered the "unstoppable force" phase of his career.
He’s not just blocking shots; he’s altering the entire geometry of the floor. The Spurs are 28-13. They are 14-5 at home. It’s a fortress in San Antonio again.
The Mid-Table Logjam
The gap between the 4th seed and the 7th seed is thinner than a referee’s patience.
- Minnesota Timberwolves (27-14): They are right there. Anthony Edwards just hit the 10,000 career point milestone, becoming one of the youngest ever to do it. They’re top-10 in both offense and defense.
- Los Angeles Lakers (24-14): The Luka Doncic experiment in LA is actually working. Pairing him with a 41-year-old LeBron James sounded like a chemistry disaster, but they’ve stabilized at the 5th seed.
- Houston Rockets (23-15): The Kevin Durant trade changed everything for them. They host the Wolves tonight in a massive "statement" game. They lead the conference in points in the paint thanks to Alperen Sengun’s evolution.
- Phoenix Suns (24-17): They finally climbed out of the play-in spots. Their defense has been elite since the calendar flipped to 2026, holding opponents to barely 100 points a game.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Play-In Race
Everyone looks at the names on the jerseys, not the records. People keep waiting for the Dallas Mavericks to "snap out of it." They’re 15-26. That’s 12th place. Klay Thompson is doing his best, but the depth isn't there, and they are currently 19 games behind OKC.
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Then you have the Memphis Grizzlies and LA Clippers stuck at 10th and 11th. Both teams are around the .425 mark. The Grizzlies are struggling with consistency, while the Clippers are actually on a 4-game win streak, trying to claw back into relevance. It’s a desperate scramble.
Portland is actually the surprise at 9th. Nobody expected the Trail Blazers to be at 20-22. They aren't a title threat, but they are gritty enough to ruin a contender's night.
The Brutal Reality of the Bottom Tier
It’s getting ugly at the tail end. The Sacramento Kings (11-30) and the New Orleans Pelicans (10-33) are basically looking toward the draft lottery at this point.
The Pelicans, in particular, have been a disaster. They are 25.5 games back from the lead. When you see a team with that much talent at the bottom, you know the locker room vibes are probably non-existent.
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Why the Records Look Different This Year
The NBA's 2025-26 schedule has been front-loaded with conference games. This means the nba standings west conference are based heavily on head-to-head matchups. Houston, for instance, has struggled against the East but is 12-14 against Western foes.
If you're a bettor or a hardcore fan, keep an eye on the "strength of schedule" remaining. The Suns have had a brutal run, which explains their 17 losses, but their recent 9-2 stretch suggests they are much better than their 7th-place seed implies.
Actionable Insights for the Second Half
- Watch the Tiebreakers: With Denver and San Antonio tied, the head-to-head series is everything. One loss could mean the difference between home-court advantage and a road trip to a hostile arena.
- The Trade Deadline is Coming: Expect the Clippers and Mavericks to be aggressive. They have the star power but lack the role players to move up from the 11th/12th spots.
- OKC’s Health: The Thunder are the deepest team in the league. Even with Nikola Topic just returning to training, they haven't missed a beat. Unless SGA goes down, the 1st seed is likely locked.
- Monitor the Suns' Defense: If Phoenix keeps holding teams under 105 points, they will be a top-4 team by March. Their defensive rating is currently 5th in the league.
The West is usually a wild ride, but this year feels particularly volatile. You’ve got legendary veterans trying to hold off a wave of 22-year-old superstars who don't care about history. By the time we hit April, these standings will look even more chaotic.
Check the schedule for the next "Coast 2 Coast" Tuesday. The Spurs-Thunder matchup is going to be the most important game of the month for anyone trying to figure out who actually owns this conference.