Around the West: Sizing up the conference behind the Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have ridden a five-game winning streak to the top of the Western Conference with a 9-2 record. Luka Dončić is playing like the MVP, Austin Reaves looks like a legitimate All-NBA guard and a host of role players, headlined by Walker Kessler, are flourishing.

While a favorable schedule has benefitted them to some degree, wins count all the same and the Lakers are largely taking care of business, dismantling lesser teams in comfortable fashion.

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But Los Angeles is not the lone team out West piling up victories. The four clubs directly behind them have won a combined 23 games in a row, led by the San Antonio Spurs’ eight-game winning streak and the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak. Early season standings are almost always jumbled, but the West is particularly unforgiving thus far. The Portland Trail Blazers began the weekend atop the conference at 6-1, then dropped a back-to-back set to the now No. 1 and 2 seeds and tumbled to eighth.

Moving forward, I’ll regularly provide a snapshot of the Western Conference standings with a brief section on every team to offer a glimpse at the Lakers’ fiercest foes.

Net ratings are courtesy of Cleaning the Glass and exclude garbage time.

Playoff teams

1. Oklahoma City Thunder: 8-2, plus-8.4 net rating (6th in the NBA)

Lakers’ record vs. Thunder: 0-0

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Before November even arrived, the Thunder were dealt a trio of serious blows as three starters — Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace — all suffered serious injuries and are out for the foreseeable future. After a couple hiccups following a 4-0 start, they’ve rebounded to rattle off four straight wins.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is carrying the mantle as their engine while Ajay Mitchell instills crucial secondary creation. Rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz have also stepped up amid all the injuries to assimilate themselves and help keep OKC afloat.

2. San Antonio Spurs: 8-2, plus-12.2 net rating (1st)

Lakers’ record vs. Spurs: 0-0

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The Spurs opened the year with a pair of losses and have since rampaged through the league. During their eight-game winning…

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Publish date : 2026-11-09 23:13:00

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