Although the Oklahoma City Thunder had a relatively quiet trade deadline, the team did get Chet Holmgren back from injury after nearly three months of being sidelined. That type of addition is as impactful as any deadline move, which is a positive for the Thunder.

However, the Western Conference did become more competitive overall during the past week, with potentially league-altering trades involving needle-moving players.

Oklahoma City is still the clear favorite to come out of the Western Conference, but the road hasn’t gotten any easier. As of today, nine teams are above .500 in the Western Conference, as opposed to just six in the East. The Thunder is at the top of the West standings 50 games into the season at 41-9, but OKC will have a very tough road no matter who ends up being the matchup in each round of the postseason. There are numerous teams with the talent to make noise in the players, but as of today, there appears to be some level of hierarchy in the standings.

1. OKC Thunder (41-9)
2. Memphis Grizzlies (35-16)
3. Denver Nuggets (33-19)
4. Houston Rockets (32-20)
5. Los Angeles Lakers (30-19)
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (29-23)
7. LA Clippers (28-23)
8. Dallas Mavericks (28-25)
9. Phoenix Suns (26-25)
10. Sacramento Kings (25-26)
11. Golden State Warriors (25-26)
12. San Antonio Spurs (22-27)
13. Portland Trail Blazers (23-29)
14. Utah Jazz (12-38)
15. New Orleans Pelicans (12-39)

Oklahoma City has six more wins than the second-place team (the Grizzlies) in the conference. With just 32 games left in the 2024-25 campaign, Oklahoma City has a 6.5-game cushion over the top seed in the West.

The most significant trade that took place over the past week was a deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers and Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks. While both teams were already threats to the Thunder that had the talent to pull off an upset in the playoffs, this trade fundamentally changed how each team matches up with OKC from a personnel standpoint. The Lakers now have two of the most prolific playoff performers in the sport, while the Mavs added even more size and defensive upside, which could be a challenge for the Thunder.

The Thunder will likely earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference again, which means playing the No. 8 seed in the Play-In Tournament. As of today, the teams in that range (7-10) include the Clippers, Mavericks, Suns, and Kings, with the Warriors also in the mix.

The Clippers have the second-best defense in the NBA behind OKC, and they just acquired Bogdan Bogdanovic at the deadline and Ben Simmons on the buyout market. The Suns didn’t make a deadline splash like many anticipated but still have a trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, making any seven-game series interesting if they can get hot. The Kings acquired Zach LaVine and Jonas Valanciunas in a re-tool while sending out De’Aaron Fox. The Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler, putting a legitimate playoff performer next to Steph Curry. And if the Spurs make a late push and earn a spot in the playoffs, Victor Wembanyama now has a co-star with Fox and are as competitive as they’ve been in a few years.

Again, the Thunder still has more talent than each of these teams and will be the favorite to win the Western Conference and advance to the NBA Finals. But there likely won’t be a single round in which a favorable or easy matchup presents itself.

On various levels, the trade deadline made the Western Conference even more competitive, meaning the Thunder’s potential road to a title could be even more difficult.