The Oklahoma City Thunder, by all accounts, should still be considered the best team in the Western Conference.
They fell short in the playoffs last year, in large part, because of the injuries to Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell. With both of those players in the fold, the Thunder would likely have been able to push the San Antonio Spurs to the ropes in the conference finals. Without them, they simply didn't have enough offensive juice to get the job done.
But that's purely a hypothetical, and all of that is in the past now. Oklahoma City must now face the 2026-27 campaign with re-shaped depth and a new rotational hierarchy. Although the Eastern Conference is the one that's undergone seismic changes this offseason, the West hasn't been entirely quiet.
The Thunder will need to reclaim their dominance over a changing landscape in 2026-27. Here are the three moves that could make that tougher— even if these teams (outside of San Antonio) probably won't threaten Oklahoma City for the one-seed.
Western Conference shake-ups that could make life difficult for the Thunder
1. Tobias Harris to the San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs didn't make any drastic changes this offseason, but they didn't need to. They have their young core intact for the next couple of seasons on cost-controlled deals, and their performance in their run to the Finals didn't leave much to be desired.
They had one primary rotational weakness last season, though, and they addressed it this offseason with their addition of Tobias Harris on a two-year, $30.8 million deal. After Harrison Barnes fell out of the starting lineup last season, San Antonio missed having a connective passer and a physical defender alongside Victor Wembanyama in the frontcourt. If Harris ultimately starts, he has the veteran experience and the scoring upside to serve that purpose.
He averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists while knocking down 36.8% of his attempts from beyond the arc with the Detroit Pistons last season. It's not a move that significantly changes the outlook for this Spurs team, but it is one that, if everything comes together, could make them even more dangerous.
2. Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers
Major changes came this offseason for the Lakers. After moving on from LeBron James, they quickly re-distributed their newly found cap space, orchestrating a sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler and inking Austin Reaves to an extension while adding Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Collin Sexton in free agency.
Their status as a top team in the West will obviously hinge on the success of all these moves, but Kessler is the greatest X-factor for this roster. He's an admirable shot blocker and a capable interior scorer, having averaged 11.1 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 66.3% from the field in his last full season in 2024-25. But this Los Angeles team is (as usual) lacking perimeter defenders.
Can Kessler's presence near the rim be enough to anchor this defense? Is there anything left to worry about with the season-ending shoulder injury Kessler suffered in 2025-26 with the Utah Jazz?
There are questions here, but Los Angeles has a chance to be a real contender if the Kessler move pays immediate dividends.
3. LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves
There's a real chance the Timberwolves' trade for LaMelo Ball goes horribly, horribly wrong. He doesn't present much, if any, defensive upside, and his erratic decision-making and scoring inefficiencies can quickly limit a team's ceiling. The move also cost them Naz Reid, and the Timberwolves don't currently have a true power forward on their roster.
But Minnesota needed a creative point guard to play alongside their star in Anthony Edwards. and Ball certainly represents that. Although Ball took a step back as a scorer on an emergent Charlotte roster in 2025-26, he's still coming off the back of his healthiest and most productive season since he entered the NBA. He averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists while shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc across 72 games.
If things go right, this could be the most creative and dynamic offensive team in the league. That's a major if, but don't count the Timberwolves out unless we see those pitfalls show up in the postseason.
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