What Is the NBA Western Conference Standings?

The NBA Western Conference standings are a key factor in determining which teams will make the playoffs. Here’s a look at where things stand as of today.

NBA Western Conference Standings

The NBA Western Conference Standings are the standings for the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The conference is made up of 15 teams, which are divided into three divisions: the Northwest, the Pacific, and the Southwest.

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers compete in the Western Conference, and they are one of the most successful teams in NBA history, winning 16 championships. The Lakers are also one of the most valuable franchises in the NBA, worth over $4 billion.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference Pacific Division. The Clippers were founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, one of three expansion teams to join the NBA that year. The Braves moved from Buffalo, New York to San Diego, California in 1978 and became known as the San Diego Clippers until 1984, when they moved to Los Angeles. Through much of their history, the Clippers were seen as an inferior team to the cross-town rival Lakers, garnering a handful of playoff appearances and never having advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are currently in first place in the Western Conference with a record of 48-22. They are followed by the Los Angeles Lakers (46-21), the LA Clippers (44-22), the Houston Rockets (42-24), and the Utah Jazz (41-25).

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since 1991, the team has played its home games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The franchise began play as an expansion team in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City in 1979.

The Jazz were one of the least successful teams in the league in their early years. In 1983–84, they had their best season since moving to Utah, finishing 39–43 (.476), but missing the playoffs. Karl Malone and John Stockton emerged as All-Stars by their second season together, and led the team to six playoff appearances – including a conference finals appearance in 1992 – from 1984 to 1994. Stockton and Malone went on to establish themselves as one of the best point guard–power forward duos of all time; each player recorded at least 10,000 career assists, while becoming the only teammates ever to be selected co-MVPs in 1997.

During Malone’s second year with Utah (1985–86), he became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with his 18th point against Houston on December 26, 1985; he would finish his career with 36,374 points for New Orleans/Utah, which stood as an NBA record until 2004 when it was broken by Karl Malone’s former teammate John Stockton.[2] On March 30, 2004, Jerry Sloan became one of only two head coaches (the other being Lenny Wilkens) to win 1,000 NBA games with one franchise;[3] despite this milestone achieved by Sloan and his late-career successes with Stockton and Malone from 1989 to 2003 that resulted in 15 consecutive playoff appearances including two trips to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 where they were runners up both times to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls; after losing Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals at home despite a 35-point game by Malone,[4][5] Sloan opted out of his coaching contract with Utah because management had broken up his All-Star duo by trading Stockton away following that season while preparing for a rebuild around rookie point guard Deron Williams whom they drafted 3rd overall in 2005.[6][7]

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently in first place in the NBA Western Conference standings. They have a record of 48-22, which is two games ahead of the second place Houston Rockets. The Thunder are also four games ahead of the third place Los Angeles Lakers.

Eastern Conference Standings

The NBA’s Western Conference is home to some of the best teams in the league. The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Oklahoma City Thunder are all in the Western Conference. The Western Conference is also home to the defending NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. As of right now, the Western Conference standings are as follows.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and played its home games at the Milwaukee Arena from 1968 to 1988.

Since 1991, the Bucks have played their home games at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee. They won a league-best 60 games during the 2019–20 season and advanced to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1974, losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games. But with reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way, they’re primed for another deep playoff run next season.

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games at the Scotiabank Arena, which they share with the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs. The team was founded in 1995 as part of the NBA’s expansion into Canada, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. Since holding their first official game against the New York Knicks on November 3, 1995, the Raptors have finished as runners-up for an NBA championship on two occasions; in 2000 and 2019. They were also conference champions in 2019.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of the league’s original eight teams, the team play their home games at TD Garden, which they share with the National Hockey League (NHL)’s Boston Bruins. The Celtics are one of the most successful teams in NBA history; the franchise has won the most championships in the NBA with 17, accounting for 24.6 percent of all NBA championships since the league’s founding.

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The Heat play their home games at American Airlines Arena, and have won three NBA championships.

The franchise began play in 1988 as an expansion team. After a period of mediocrity, the Heat would gain relevance during the 1990s following the acquisition of center Alonzo Mourning in 1995. The team would again emerge as a contender in 2006 following the drafting of Dwyane Wade and signing of free agent Shaquille O’Neal. The Heat experienced their greatest success with their “Big Three” era from 2010 to 2014, winning two championships (2012 and 2013) with Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Wade while making four NBA Finals appearances.

Following James’ departure in 2014, the team entered into another period of rebuilding; this time however they would not return to relevance until acquiring Jimmy Butler during the 2019 NBA offseason.

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They have a record of 27-14, which is good for a .659 winning percentage. The Pacers are 3.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Bucks and 2.5 games ahead of the fifth-place Miami Heat. Indiana has gone 14-6 at home and 13-8 on the road so far this season.