2025 Western Conference power rankings<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s the thing about August rankings\u2014they\u2019re like vacation rental photos. You know they\u2019re staged, you know half of it\u2019s not real, but you still look at them, get mad about the prices, and start imagining all the ways they\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n
No surprise here\u2014they earned it.<\/p>\n
They were the consensus West favorite last year, and they delivered: 68\u201314 in the regular season, blew through the playoffs, survived Nikola Jokic in one round and Anthony Edwards in another, then outlasted Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers in a Finals that was way closer than the casual fan probably remembers.<\/p>\n
And they\u2019re running it back. Same roster. Same coach. Same swagger. If this were the BCS era of college football, OKC would be the unanimous preseason No. 1.<\/p>\n
Fine. No problem here. Moving on.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s where Wolves fans start to squint.<\/p>\n
Denver\u2019s sitting in the No. 2 slot, which\u2014on paper\u2014makes sense if you just look at \u201cbest player in the world\u201d logic. Jokic is still Jokic. They won the title in 2023. They took OKC to seven in the second round last year. They\u2019ve been here before.<\/p>\n
But then you remember the Wolves have been to back-to-back Western Conference Finals<\/strong>\u2026 and Denver hasn\u2019t sniffed that round in two years.<\/p>\nYes, they added Cam Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas. Solid pieces. But they also lost Michael Porter Jr. and Russell Westbrook\u2014two guys who, while not exactly All-NBA, were important rotation players.<\/p>\n
So is this roster actually better than last year\u2019s? Or is this just a \u201cbenefit of the doubt\u201d bump because of the gold banner hanging in Ball Arena?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re telling me Jokic gives them a higher floor in April than Minnesota, fine. But if we\u2019re rewarding recent playoff r\u00e9sum\u00e9? The Wolves have the edge.<\/p>\n
This one\u2026 I actually laughed out loud when I saw it.<\/p>\n
Houston was the two-seed last year, sure. But they got bounced in Round 1 by the Warriors.<\/p>\n
To me, this is all about Houston taking the biggest swing of the offseason by bringing in Kevin Durant.<\/p>\n
Look, I love Durant. He\u2019s a generational scorer. But he\u2019s also 37. The last time he made it past the second round we all thought \u201csocial distancing\u201d meant blocking your uncle on Facebook. Durant is joining a roster that just lost Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks\u2014two guys who, flaws and all, were key contributors.<\/p>\n
Yes, Houston added Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela, which gives them more defensive versatility\u2026 in theory. But this \u201cKD will put us over the top\u201d thing? Phoenix just tried that with him and failed. Brooklyn tried it before that. It\u2019s been a while since \u201cAdd Durant, print Finals tickets\u201d was an actual thing.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s maybe see them win one playoff series before slotting them ahead of a team that\u2019s already living in the Conference Finals neighborhood.<\/p>\n
4. Minnesota Timberwolves<\/strong><\/p>\nHere\u2019s where the insult lands.<\/p>\n
The Wolves are fourth. Behind the reigning champs? Fine. Behind Denver? Debatable. Behind Houston? Nope.<\/p>\n
I get that the offseason headline for Minnesota was basically \u201cran it back, minus Nickeil Alexander-Walker.\u201d No splashy free-agent signings. No blockbuster trades. And if you just scan transactions like it\u2019s a fantasy football draft board, you could trick yourself into thinking they stood still.<\/p>\n
But this is ignoring context. This is ignoring the reality that this team spent the first half of last season learning how to integrate Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, took some lumps, and then transformed into a cohesive, dangerous playoff machine by April.<\/p>\n
Anthony Edwards is 24 now and still improving. Randle\u2019s acclimated. Rudy Gobert is still anchoring an elite defense. And there\u2019s a legit wave of young guys\u2014Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, Rob Dillingham, and rookie Joan Beringer\u2014who could all make incremental contributions.<\/p>\n
Continuity isn\u2019t sexy in August power rankings. But in May? It wins you games.<\/p>\n
Why It Matters (Even Though It Doesn\u2019t)<\/strong><\/p>\nYes, preseason rankings are meaningless. Yes, this is just August filler content. But if you\u2019re a Wolves fan, this is two years in a row where you\u2019ve been told, \u201cNice run, but we\u2019re not taking you seriously yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver gets historical credit. Houston gets shiny-object credit. And Minnesota gets the \u201cyeah, but\u2026\u201d treatment.<\/p>\n
The truth is, the Wolves have been a top-four team in the league for two straight years. They\u2019ve taken big swings (Gobert, Randle), nailed the supporting cast moves (Conley, DiVincenzo), and built a roster that knows how to win together.<\/p>\n
Maybe this fourth-place ranking will just become bulletin-board material. Maybe they\u2019ll leapfrog both Denver and Houston by the All-Star break. Maybe we\u2019ll look back at this list in May and laugh at how wrong it was.<\/p>\n
Either way, we\u2019re in August\u2014so we\u2019re allowed to get irrationally mad about it now.<\/p>\n
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