1. Los Angeles Lakers
2025-26 record: 53-29, 1st in the Pacific, lost to Thunder in Western Conference semifinals
Head coach: JJ Redick, 3rd season with Lakers (103-61)
Coming and going: The LeBron James Era of Lakers basketball is history, with one championship (2020) in eight seasons to show for it. Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes and Luke Kennard followed him out the door, then scattered. New center Walker Kessler was acquired from the Utah Jazz in a trade, while $112 million was invested in free agents Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Hardly feels like a fair exchange.
Numbers to crunch: The Lakers won 32 playoff games in six trips to the postseason in James’ eight seasons, after winning a grand total of nine in three trips the previous eight years. At least coaches felt safer — James had just four; the previous eight editions featured six.
Breakout player: Kessler averaged a double-double in 2024-25 and appeared on his way to doing it again last season before suffering a torn labrum in his left shoulder after just five games. Nobody noticed because he was in Utah. Now ticketed to run pick-and-rolls with Luka Doncic, a superstar whose best passes make national television clips, the 25-year-old figures to be the franchise’s best two-way interior threat since Anthony Davis. This time, he might get recognized.
2. Phoenix Suns
2025-26 record: 45-37, 2nd in the Pacific, lost to Thunder in Western Conference first round
Head coach: Jordan Ott, 2nd season with the Suns (45-37)
Coming and going: The Suns rode a new coach (Ott), an unshackled superstar (Devin Booker) and a defensive enforcer (Dillon Brooks) to a nine-game improvement last season. In an effort to take another step up the West ladder, they’ve doubled down on the bully look, adding board-sweeping force Miles Bridges from the Charlotte Hornets. With apologies to Grayson Allen, not much else has changed.
Numbers to crunch: The Suns committed 144 more fouls than their opponents last season, ranked second in the NBA in technical fouls and tied for third in flagrant fouls. Hey, it worked.
Breakout player: A 19.9-point scoring average would seem to indicate that Jalen Green has had a nice five-year career. That indication would be incorrect. Drafted second overall as a 19-year-old in 2021, he was supposed to improve year to year, but he has never learned to shoot (42% overall last season, career-worst 31% on 3-pointers), and never developed as a passer (1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio). Yet Ott has given him the freedom to do more this season, and so far, this coach has pushed every right button.
3. Golden State Warriors
2025-26 record: 37-45, 4th in the Pacific, lost to Suns in Western Conference play-in
Head coach: Steve Kerr, 13th season with Warriors (604-353 record)
Coming and going: Every prognosticator labeled Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg as the perfect pick for vertically challenged Golden State at No. 11 last June, and — get this — they appear to have been right for a change. He appears to be a bridge to the Warriors’ future, which wasn’t looking so sturdy when the club elected to re-sign Draymond Green, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Maybe it still isn’t.
Numbers to crunch: The Warriors went 23-15 before Jimmy Butler III suffered a season-ending knee injury last January. They went 14-30 thereafter. The six-time All-Star figures to miss at least the first half of this season during his rehabilitation, which could set up the most meaningless 23-15 finish in NBA history.
Breakout player: With Butler and Moses Moody injured to start the season, Porzingis out indefinitely with a mysterious ailment and Stephen Curry a load-management candidate, the door is open for young Warriors to seize their opportunity. Gui Santos, the likely starter in Butler’s place, will get first crack. A 50% shooter who doubled his scoring average last season, the Brazilian could surprise.
4. Los Angeles Clippers
2025-26 record: 42-40, 3rd in the Pacific, lost to Warriors in Western Conference play-in
Head coach: Tyronn Lue, seventh season with Clippers (276-206 record)
Coming and going: The Clippers picked the right time to make a trade with the Indiana Pacers, benefitting from Tyrese Haliburton’s injury to land a potential star in Keaton Wagler with the No. 5 pick in June. He joins Brandon Ingram, part of the package acquired from the Toronto Raptors for Kawhi Leonard, and Rui Hachimura, imported from across town, as the foundation of a team that might not change much for a while in the wake of the forfeiture of five first-round draft picks for salary-cap circumvention involving Leonard.
Numbers to crunch: With Stephen Curry and James Harden getting older, the door swung open for a new 3-point leader last season. The Hornets’ Kon Knueppel edged then-teammate LaMelo Ball for the honor, but look out this year for Darius Garland, who shot 44% on 7.6 attempts per game after joining the Clippers in February. A green light this season is a sign that latter number could go up significantly.
Breakout player: Hachimura was a 52% shooter in four seasons with the Lakers, but there were two obvious reasons (James and Doncic) why his scoring average was never higher than 13.6. But they’re no longer handcuffing him, and neither is Leonard, which assures he’ll double his career average of 9.9 shots per game on many nights.
5. Sacramento Kings
2025-26 record: 22-60, 5th in the Pacific, did not make playoffs
Head coach: Doug Christie, third season with Kings (49-84 record)
Coming and going: As testimony to the depth of the 2026 draft, Darius Acuff Jr. enters the season as likely to win Rookie of the Year as anyone, despite being selected seventh. He should work a nice pick-and-roll with Domantas Sabonis, one of the top passing big men in the league.
Numbers to crunch: 5.4, 12 and 22. Kings fans already are pondering their odds in a reconfigured draft lottery. The 5.4 represents the new percentage of teams with the three worst records have of winning the lottery, down from 14% last year. The 12 is the new guaranteed worst spot a bottom-three team can select, down from fifth last year. And the 22 was the number of wins it took last season to escape the bottom three; the other seven non-play-in teams this year will have an 8.1% chance of walking away with the top prize.
Breakout player: It would have been Ben Simmons. Simmons was a three-time All-Star and twice a first-team All-NBA defender in his first four seasons. He signed a veteran-minimum contract and was playing well in preseason games, but suffered a torn right Achilles tendon in practice on Oct. 18 and will miss the entire season.
