An early peek at every West team
The Thunder have ANOTHER weapon, the Grizzlies a great rookie
San Antonio Spurs 3-0
Oh boy. The future is now. Victor Wembanyama is here and there’s no way around him. He’s a top-five player in the world now, that’s all I need to write about him until a big breakdown to come. It’s his teammates that have a lot of us excited. Devin Vassell is proving to be the guy I loved when he left school as a 19 year old. He and Julian Champagnie are perimeter sharpshooters. Stephon Castle and rookie Dylan Harper both look like power guards who can pummel gaps in the defense caused by the gravity of those other three I love how hard the whole roster competes. When I picked them to win 44 this season, I was probably more wrong about them than any team; they look the part of a 50+ win group who will be a nightmare matchup in April and perhaps beyond, and they’re only getting started.
Oklahoma City Thunder 3-0
If Cedric Coward is the surprise rookie of the first week and Aaron Gordon the surprise vet, Ajay Mitchell is the shocking former two-way player. The league’s contenders should be terrified that the Thunder have yet another gem of a player. Mitchell is averaging 19 points per game while making 42 percent from behind the 3-point line and 100 percent of his free throws. The reason he’s in the game is because he’s a lockdown defender who guards three positions while easily filling in as a second playmaker next to the absurdly fantastic Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As long as Jalen Williams is out injured, Mitchell is the Thunder’s second-best playmaker, which is a real tribute to the organization. Remember, Mitchell was getting first-quarter minutes in many games last year while still on a two-way deal. The return of Alex Caruso and J-Dub will only make this team almost hilariously deep again.
One quick shout out to Chet Holmgren—he looks like he’s going to make a big jump forward this year with his shotmaking and increased strength. All-NBA is within reach in the spring of 2026.
Los Angeles Lakers 2-1
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to TrueHoop to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.