SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors faced the league’s most storied franchise on Tuesday, and arguably the NBA’s most dominant offensive force on Thursday.
So much for an easy start to the season.
Golden State’s first two games saw it beat the Lakers in the opener, and then fly back to the Bay Area for a home opener against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The pair of marquee matchups is nothing special, however. It will simply be the norm for Golden State this season as it navigates and attempts to survive the brutal Western Conference.
As has been the case since the dynasty of the Jordan-Pippen Bulls faded at the end of the 1990s, the balance of power is tilted toward the Western franchises.
A glance through the 2025-26 version of the NBA shows that it will remain the case for the next year – and the divide between West and East may even be more pronounced than in recent years.
The Warriors’ top five of Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Jonathan Kuminga would likely be one of the premier units in the East and a lock for a top-four seed in a group where both Indiana and Boston have been depleted by injuries to superstars.
That is not the case in the West, especially as the Warriors attempt to keep their older players fresh during the 82-game marathon.
“The West is loaded, and you can’t mess around too much, even though it’s a long season,” coach Steve Kerr said. “You’ve got to find the best version of yourself as quickly as you can.
The Lakers and Nuggets, with their MVP candidates in Jokic and LA’s Luka Doncic, will each be a force. But the contenders do not end there.
Oklahoma City went to double-overtime with the revamped Rockets in its opener – more on them later – but is expected to be the top team in the NBA as the Thunder attempt to become the first repeat champs since the 2017-18 Warriors.
Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has etched his name as one of the NBA’s top scorers with three consecutive seasons of at least 30 points per game averages, and Chet Holmgren appears primed to break out as a dynamic two-way big. Former Santa Clara star Jalen Williams, OKC’s No. 2 scorer, is out to start the year with a wrist injury but will provide another all-around threat upon his return.
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The Rockets will be no pushover, either. After earning the No. 2 seed and taking the Warriors to seven games in the first round of the playoffs, they retooled.
Kevin Durant, a former Warrior and still a lethal shooter, completes a super-sized Rockets lineup that features four players taller than 6-foot-10.
Any Rocket – or player in the league – will still look small compared to San Antonio’s uber-talent Victor Wembanyama. He had 40 points and 15 rebounds in the Spurs’ opener as the third-year phenom created his own personal highlight reel against the Mavericks.
Dallas, which boasts top draft pick Cooper Flagg and healthy (for now) Anthony Davis, also figures to be a factor once Kyrie Irving returns from last season’s ACL tear.
And one cannot forget about the Timberwolves. Minnesota took out Golden State in a five-game second-round series and has reached each of the past two Western Conference Finals.
Anthony Edwards has averaged at least 24 points per game in each of the previous three seasons, and shredded the Trail Blazers to the tune of 41 points in his season debut.
And that is just the start. Ja Morant headlines the Grizzlies along with Jaren Jackson Jr., while Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and the Clippers have new depth in former All-Stars Chris Paul and Bradley Beal.
A season ago, 48 games earned the Warriors and Grizzlies the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively. Now, it appears they might need 50 wins to break into the playoffs.
“We’re just plodding our way through, night after night,” Curry said.