NBA quarter-season grades for every West team, from obvious ‘A+’ to alarming ‘F-‘

The Western Conference has been filled with extremes early in the 2025-26 season. Oklahoma City is barreling toward 70 or more wins. The Nuggets, Rockets and Lakers have all lived up to their preseason hype, and frankly, Victor Wembanyama (when healthy) and the San Antonio Spurs have exceeded theirs. There’s no question that the top of the Western Conference, for what feels like the 30th consecutive season, will give us most of our true championship contenders.

The bottom? Yeah, things get bleaker at the bottom. Whether it’s injuries (Grizzlies), age (Clippers), idiotic moves coming back to bite them (Mavericks), or a combination of the three (Kings), there is some true misery lurking at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. The middle class here is relatively small.

So as we grade the Western Conference through one quarter of the season, don’t be surprised by the sharp divide between high grades and low ones. There will be plenty of As and Bs. There will be some Fs as well. The 2025-26 Western Conference has given us a little bit of everything, so let’s dive into our team by team grades.

Dallas Mavericks: D

• Record:
• The basics: 30th in offense, 6th in defense, 22nd in net rating (-4.5)
• Reason for optimism: Cooper Flagg has been as advertised as of late
• Reason for pessimism: Trading Anthony Davis will be difficult

The offense has been terrible, but that’s mainly due to the convoluted early season plan to have Flagg be the point guard. If you look at just the last five games, Dallas’ offense has been middle-of-the-pack, suggesting this new lineup with Brandon Williams and Ryan Nembhard taking turns starting in the lead guard spot is working. Flagg’s been able to get the ball on the move and attack the rim far easier now than at the start of the season, and he’s starting to look like the guy that everyone was raving about heading into the draft. He’s been far more comfortable, and the Mavericks are starting to play through him and give Flagg more of an opportunity to be the offensive engine on this team. He’s put up 24 and 35 points in his last two contests, while shooting 55% from the floor. He’s been more assertive and aggressive and isn’t settling for 3s as much, which has been the weakest point of his offensive game so far. Flagg’s being patient to see what the defense is giving him and attacking from there, and is on a trajectory to get back in the driver’s seat for Rookie of the Year.

Anthony Davis’ situation is a bummer, and so is the NBA trade landscape

James Herbert

As great as Flagg has been, there’s still a dark cloud hanging over the Mavericks. They finally fired Nico Harrison about nine months too late, but at least the conversation can be about basketball again and not who is in the front office. The issue, though, is that Dallas now has to undo the mess that Harrison made, and unfortunately firing him isn’t going to bring Luka back. So now Dallas has to turn its attention to figuring out what to do with this roster of misfit puzzle pieces to clear a path forward. Trading Anthony Davis seems like priority No. 1, but finding someone willing to take on his contract and the injury risk that comes with him is going to be nearly impossible. There’s other trade chips on this roster, but are the Mavericks ready to fully bottom out with hopes of landing a top-five pick? It’s probably too late to do that anyway, because as currently constructed this roster is going to win too many games to give them a legitimate shot at landing one of those top lottery spots. The next few months will be paramount in telling us what path the Mavericks plan to walk. — Jasmyn Wimbish

Denver Nuggets: A

• Record: 14-6
• The basics: 1st in offense, 16th in defense, 3rd in net rating (+8.8)
• Reason for optimism: After a slow start, Cam Johnson averaged 17.6 points on 58-61-89 shooting splits — 77% true shooting! — in the seven games preceding Monday’s loss against Dallas
• Reason for pessimism: Their defense has fallen apart without Aaron Gordon, who might not return from his hamstring injury until the new year. (In their last seven games, a stretch in which Gordon played a total of three minutes, they surrendered 122.9 points per 100 possessions)

Nikola Jokić is still the best player in the world, and this season is shaping up to be his finest yet. On a per-possession basis, he’s scoring, assisting and getting to the line more often than ever before, and the Nuggets are scoring 127.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the court. His 72.8% true shooting percentage flat-out doesn’t make sense for a player who creates his own shot with any regularity, let alone a primary playmaker.

And there are plenty of other positives: Jamal Murray is on track to finally make an All-Star Game, Gordon was playing like an All-Star before his injury and the team is no longer totally hopeless in the non-Jokić minutes. Denver has been outscored by four points per 100 possessions with Jokić on the bench, but that represents a significant improvement, as it was outscored by 9.3 per 100 last season (and between 7.9 and 10.4 per 100 in each of the three previous ones). Before Gordon went down, the improved defense was a big story, too. If any team can stop the Thunder from repeating, it’s this one. — James Herbert

• Record: 11-10
• The basics: 23rd in offense, 7th in defense, 16th in net rating (+1.3)
• Reason for optimism: Most of last season’s defensive success has sustained
• Reason for pessimism: They couldn’t score on a NERF hoop without Stephen Curry on the floor

The supporting cast isn’t good enough. It’s really that simple. They’re getting 28 a game out of Curry. Draymond Green’s defense remains stellar. Jimmy Butler gets to the line and does a little bit of everything. That’s the best they could have reasonably hoped for out of a trio of stars who are between 35 and 37. But nobody else is doing their part. Remember when they thought Brandin Podziemski had All-Star upside? How about those Shawn Marion comparisons Jonathan Kuminga drew on opening night? Buddy Hield isn’t making shots, and he’s unplayable when that’s the case. Al Horford’s long overdue decline finally seems to have arrived. Having a bottom-10 offense with Curry on your team is borderline impossible. They need someone else who can dribble, and they need shooters who can actually make their shots. And while we’re at it, they probably need a real big man as well. Golden State has always punched above its weight as a rebounding team, but with Kevon Looney gone, they’ve fallen all the way down to 25th this season. Considering the spacing issues Butler and Green present, that’s not going to be an easy problem to solve. This team feels like a work in progress. The inevitable Kuminga trade will help, but the stars (and Moses Moody) are the only ones pulling their weight thus far. — Sam Quinn

Houston Rockets: A

• Record: 13-5
• The basics: 2nd in offense, 3rd in defense, 2nd in net rating (+10.9)
• Reason for optimism: Reed Sheppard is a foundational piece
• Reason for pessimism: They probably still need a point guard

Monday’s upset loss to the Jazz aside, the Rockets have stormed out to a 13-5 start, and possess the second-best offense in the league despite not deploying a traditional point guard through the first quarter of the season. Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury looked like it could spell misery for the Rockets, but Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Kevin Durant and Reed Sheppard have been enough to plug up that glaring need for a more traditional lead guard. Thompson specifically has flourished as a point-forward, averaging career highs across the board, while Sheppard’s proving to be one of the best 3-point shooters in the league this season. Despite being undersized at 6-foot-2, Sheppard’s managed to crack Ime Udoka’s rotation, and while he’ll continue to get hunted defensively, Houston can more than cover for his lapses on that end of the floor.

For as good as Houston has been, though, as we start to forecast how the playoffs will look, you wonder how Sheppard will hold up when opponents play more aggressive defensively. The same will go for Thompson as a lead ball-handler, too. Right now this point guard by committee plan has panned out well for the Rockets, but is it sustainable during the playoffs when team’s employ elite point of attack defenders? That will be a question the Rockets will have to answer ahead of the trade deadline in February. — Jasmyn Wimbish

Los Angeles Clippers: F-

• Record: 5-16
• The basics: 20th in offense, 27th in defense, 24th in net rating (-6.3)
• Reason for optimism: James Harden still rules
• Reason for pessimism: How much time ya got?

Even “F-” doesn’t feel strong enough for this Hindenburg of a team. This is the worst grade we’ll award today. We knew the Pelicans and Kings would be bad. The Clippers were supposed to be a win-now team. L.A. has the NBA’s oldest roster, and yet the most notable thing about it is everything it has given away. The Clippers gave the Heat a potential All-Star in Norm Powell. They may be giving the Thunder, you know, that team that’s only lost once all year, the No. 1 pick in next June’s draft. They may be handing over several more draft picks depending on how this Kawhi Leonard investigation pans out. The highest compliment you can pay the Clippers is that they’re roughly an average 3-point shooting team. That’s it. They never score in the paint or rebound. They can’t stop a nosebleed. Only the Nets and Hornets score fewer fast-break points, and those teams are trying to lose. Only the 76ers allow more of them. If Harden and Ivica Zubac weren’t here, this would be the worst team in the NBA. Leonard is still quite good when he shows up to work, I suppose. The past three months really could not have gone worse. — Sam Quinn

Los Angeles Lakers: B+

• Record: 15-5
• The basics: 6th in offense, 18th in defense, 13th in net rating (+3.1)
• Reason for optimism: The stars are everything they hoped they’d be
• Reason for pessimism: Unsustainable clutch performance is masking deeper concerns

The Lakers are great at the things they expected to be great at. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are currently on pace to become the highest-scoring duo in a single season (on a per-game basis) in post-merger league history, and while LeBron James hasn’t posted gaudy numbers since returning, he’s slid in comfortably, done a little bit of everything and injected some badly needed pace into an otherwise slow offense. As team, the Lakers are currently on pace to absolutely shatter the record for 2-point field goal percentage over a single season. Their free-throw margin is, as always, enormous. The Lakers are, by and large, who we expected them to be. That means they have the flaws we figured they would too. Despite JJ Redick’s best efforts, this team isn’t shooting enough 3s, and they aren’t make the ones they’re taking yet. The defense is a weak spot as we assumed it would be. Right now, the Lakers have the record of a genuine contender. Their net rating doesn’t match it. They’re the only NBA team that is currently undefeated in clutch games. They’re dominant in close games, but they’re not exactly blowing teams out yet. They’re still just a hair behind the West’s true juggernauts. The right trade, some internal improvements, maybe even a bit of luck and this team could go on a real run. For now, though, this is a good start with some room to improve. — Sam Quinn

Memphis Grizzlies: C-

• Record: 9-12
• The basics: 25th in offense, 15th in defense, 20th in net rating (-3.3)
• Reason for optimism: Cedric Coward is legit
• Reason for pessimism: The Ja Morant situation may not be resolved by season’s end

It wasn’t too long ago that Ja Morant was considered to be one of the next faces of the league. But suspensions and injuries have derailed that path, and, as I write this, Morant is currently sidelined with a calf strain. Even when he has been healthy he’s been a shell of himself. Morant and Grizzlies coach Tumoas Iisalo haven’t seen eye-to-eye on things, and that friction resulted in a one-game suspension after Morant publicly questioned his playing time earlier this season. Naturally, all of this has led to trade rumors about the All-Star guard, but as with every expensive star player who has injury concerns, it’s not going to be easy. There will surely be interest, but that doesn’t mean Memphis is going to trade Morant at the February deadline. That means we could be in for a long, painful season for Memphis where we hear more stories of the disgruntled Morant before we get some sort of resolution. This might be something that gets dragged out into the summer, which is a shame given the Grizzlies have a stable of young talent that deserves the focus this season.

Cedric Coward, specifically, has been a pleasant surprise so far. He’s playing himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation, and is reminiscent of what Desmond Bane provided the Grizzlies before he was traded in the offseason. He’s a two-way guard who isn’t shying away from guarding the league’s top players. He fights over screens, is aggressive in the passing lanes, doesn’t foul a ton and isn’t easily fooled by even the best handle in the league. Coward’s been a silver lining in a season that has otherwise felt like the ending of an era in Memphis. But if the Morant era is indeed nearing its conclusion, Coward, Jaylen Wells, Zach Edey and Scottie Pippen Jr., should give the Grizzlies hope for whatever comes next. — Jasmyn Wimbish

• Record: 12-8
• The basics: 8th in offense, 10th in defense, 8th in net rating (+4.7)
• Reason for optimism: Jaden McDaniels has bumped up his usage a bit, and because he has made 45.8% of his catch-and-shoot 3s, he has also bumped up his efficiency
• Reason for pessimism: They have multiple inexplicable losses and no particularly impressive wins

On the one hand, Anthony Edwards has been playing out of his mind lately — he has averaged 37.2 points on 69.5% true shooting in his last five games — and the Timberwolves should be pleased with how Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and McDaniels have started the season individually. The team hasn’t exactly stormed out of the gates, but last year it started 8-10 and wound up making the conference finals.

On the other hand, nothing about the way Minnesota has played indicates that it is in the Western Conference’s top tier. Mike Conley is now coming off the bench and playing a career-low 19.8 minutes per game and Rob Dillingham has not proven ready for a major role, so the Wolves miss Nickeil Alexander-Walker dearly. They seem like a type of team that should be looking at in-season trades, but they’re over the first apron, close to the second and they don’t have future first-round picks to trade. It’s unclear what the next step is here. — James Herbert

• Record: 3-18
• The basics: 26th in offense, 28th in defense, 28th in net rating (-10.4)
• Reason for optimism: Derik Queen is the steal of the draft
• Reason for pessimism: All this losing will have been for nothing

I’m not sure what to make of the Pelicans. Zion Williamson has played in nearly half of New Orleans’ games, and yet the team is no better with him in the lineup than when he sits. They’ve won just one of the 10 games Williamson has suited up for this season, which is so confounding given how poorly this team has been in the past without him on the floor. Dejounte Murray also being injured is certainly a factor, but the truth is the Pelicans — who have the NBA’s worst record as of Tuesday — have a collection of talent that just isn’t working anymore. It’s a roster that should probably be sold for parts, but tanking really isn’t an option because the Hawks own the Pelicans’ 2026 first-round pick. So New Orleans can’t even reap the benefits of all this losing next summer.

The Pelicans traded their 2026 pick to the Hawks in exchange for the No. 13 pick in the 2025 draft, which they used to take Derik Queen. It’s a double-edged sword, because Queen has looked like the steal of the draft and someone who could be a foundational piece for this franchise. Queen has been excellent and is showing shades of an elite passing big man who can score and rebound in the same vein as Alperen Sengun or Nikola Jokić. But it has the potential to be an incredibly short-sighted decision for the Pelicans if their pick lands anywhere in the top three and they lose out on a generational player. — Jasmyn Wimbish

• Record: 20-1
• The basics: 5th in offense, 1st in defense, 1st in net rating (+15.3)
• Reason for optimism: They’ve done all this without having their regular starting lineup available for a single game
• Reason for pessimism: In their last three games, SGA has actually had to play in the fourth quarter. The sky is falling!

If I were running an NBA team, the mere existence of the Thunder would make rebuilding seem more appealing. Sure, you can upgrade your roster, but what are the chances that you can build a team that can take down this juggernaut in the next couple of years? There is “depth,” and then there is what OKC has: two-way talent at every position, with an army of elite defenders and an ability to play multiple styles on both ends. Jalen Williams, who made All-NBA and All-Defense last season, missed the first 19 games of the season, and the Thunder won 18 of them, with a historically dominant defense.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is again averaging almost a point a minute, and he’s now making 43% of his pull-up 3s. Chet Holmgren is continuing to grow as an off-the-dribble scorer. Ajay Mitchell is already one of the best backups in the league. Beyond the individual storylines, though, the reigning champs have a collective understanding of what they need to do to win (virtually) every night. It’s incredibly difficult to beat a team that forces tons of turnovers, almost never gets burned in transition, protects the paint, protects the glass, protects the ball and lives at the line. — James Herbert

Portland Trail Blazers: B+

• Record: 8-12
• The basics: 19th in offense, 21st in defense, 19th in net rating (-2.5)
• Reason for optimism: They’ve had the league’s toughest early season schedule
• Reason for pessimism: They’ve scored an abysmal 101 points per 100 possessions without Deni Avdija on the court

On defense, the Trail Blazers press more often than anybody in the league. On offense, they play faster than anybody outside of Miami and attack the rim like crazy. This is their identity, and it makes them an annoying team to play when they’re anywhere near full strength. During Portland’s 5-3 start, the team beat the fully healthy Nuggets and dealt the Thunder what is still their only loss. Even though the Blazers have lost seven of their last nine games, they should be encouraged by the first quarter of the season overall.

In particular, they should be over the moon about the development of Avdija, who has been as aggressive a downhill driver as anybody in the NBA and is on track to make his first All-Star Game and win Most Improved Player. They should also be thrilled with how Jrue Holiday played before he strained his calf, which has sidelined him since Nov. 14. It’s not awesome that they rank No. 27 in halfcourt offense, per Cleaning The Glass, but ideally that will improve when Holiday returns and Scoot Henderson makes his season debut. The Holiday injury, along with injuries to Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley, have set them back on the other end, too. — James Herbert

• Record: 13-9
• The basics: 13th in offense, 13th in defense, 14th in net rating (+2.9)
• Reason for optimism: Everyone actually seems to enjoy playing basketball together
• Reason for pessimism: A laughably easy schedule may be overstating their early performance

The vibes are immaculate. The Suns are above-average on both offense and defense. They’re scoring more in the paint than they did when they had Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal on the team. They were one of the NBA’s thinnest teams a year ago. Now they’re deep enough to actually get better by net rating when Devin Booker rests. Most of the offseason additions are working out. Dillon Brooks has given them a defensive identity. Mark Williams is thriving on a team that actually wants him. The Suns owe Bronny James a thank you. The Lakers waived Jordan Goodwin because internal politics forced them to keep James instead, and Goodwin has been a solid all-around reserve for them. Overall, things are good. This is a solid, professional basketball team that holds its own in most areas, though it could stand to turn the ball over less. The only thing keeping them from an “A” is their schedule. Only the Thunder have played a weaker slate of opponents thus far. Let’s see how the Suns far against better competition before we consider this season a major victory. Still, after the misery of the past two seasons, the Suns are understandably thrilled to just to be competitive. — Sam Quinn

Sacramento Kings: F

• Record: 5-16
• The basics: 27th in offense, 25th in defense, 29th in net rating (-10.4)
• Reason for optimism: This 2026 NBA Draft might be so good that it’s Kings-proof
• Reason for pessimism: They’re bad at everything

So… what are the Kings good at? I’m struggling to find anything. I suppose they don’t turn the ball over much, but that’s mostly because they rank near the bottom of the league in passes. Their players would rather miss shots than throw bad passes. They’ve done quite a bit of that. The Kings, as of this writing, rank 23rd in the NBA in effective field goal percentage. They’re not getting good shots, as they ranked 29th in 3-point attempt rate, 24th in free-throw rate, and 27th in field goal attempts in the restricted area per game. Domantas Sabonis has led the league in rebounds three years in a row, yet this is still the worst rebounding team in the NBA. No one is really surprised by their No. 25 defense considering the best defender on the team, Keon Ellis, can’t find consistent minutes for reasons that remain unclear to everyone outside of that building. The De’Aaron Fox trade represented a real opportunity to tear this team down, start over, and build it properly. Instead, a bizarre ownership mandate to remain competitive compelled them to add a number of contracts that no one else in the league wants. The lottery is really the only source of hope here. The Kings are so poorly run that even their attempt at building a halfway decent team led to the bottom of the standings. — Sam Quinn

San Antonio Spurs: A-

• Record: 13-6
• The basics: 7th in offense, 14th in defense, 10th in net rating (+4.5)
• Reason for optimism: De’Aaron Fox is proving why it was a smart trade
• Reason for pessimism: Victor Wembanyama’s health

Through 19 games, the Spurs are a top-five seed in the West, have a top-10 offense, and a defense that ranks that high when Victor Wembanyama is playing. They’ve managed to stay afloat in a cutthroat Western Conference even with Wembanyama playing just 12 games so far due to a calf strain. That’s because Fox is carrying the Spurs across the finish line first in most games in Wemby’s absence. He’s averaging 24 points on nearly 50% shooting from the floor — far and away the most efficient he’s ever shot the ball. Fox is performing at peak levels, and for as much as people talk about San Antonio’s backcourt of the future in Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper, Fox is a fully realized player that can help Wemby compete right now. He might not be San Antonio’s long-term point guard, but he’s been a great stopgap to have while Harper and Castle continue to develop.

But Fox’s brilliance can only go so far, and without Wembanyama this team may start to slip as the schedule gets tougher. It’s not a massive red flag yet, but Wembanyama’s durability could be a topic of conversation throughout his career. He has the potential to be one of the all-time greats, but if he can’t stay healthy we might not be able to see him reach the highest pinnacles. It’s too early to make sweeping statements about the longevity of his career, but the Spurs may be better served building a title contender around Wembanyama right now than being patient and waiting for his prime. — Jasmyn Wimbish

• Record: 7-13
• The basics: 22nd in offense, 26th in defense, 25th in net rating (-6.7)
• Reason for optimism: Keyonte George has been one of the league’s most improved players
• Reason for pessimism: With Walker Kessler out for the season, no one is coming to save the Jazz’s dismal defense

Lauri Markkanen has cooled off a bit in the last couple of weeks, but he’s still averaging a career-high 28 points on 60.6% true shooting. Regardless of whether the Jazz are going to trade him or build around him, this is exactly what they needed from him after a disappointing 2024-25 season. Markkanen is not, however, the Jazzman who has made the biggest leap — that is clearly George, whose improved decision-making and finishing have made him into a totally different kind of threat with the ball in his hands.

No team has turned the ball over more often than Utah, and, according to Cleaning The Glass, no team allows more transition opportunities. I can’t judge the Jazz too harshly, though, because this is not a roster that was designed to win many games. Despite the fact that Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson are sometimes in the rotation and Jusuf Nurkic has started every game since Kessler went down, they’re still extremely young. I like their movement on offense, and I like the way they’re trying to develop Ace Bailey, who has been trending in the right direction lately. — James Herbert