2025-2026 NBA Preview: Pacific Division

LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 3: Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) drives the lane during the Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers on April 03, 2025, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 2025-2026 NBA season is less than a month away, so let’s get into some division previews.

Today, it’s the Pacific Division.

Golden State Warriors

While the Jonathan Kuminga situation remains unsolved, the Warriors are looking ahead by signing Al Horford to pair with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.

That foursome of players would have rocked the world a decade ago, but now, it raises more questions than answers, as the organization is old, and a concern of injuries hover above it.

In a perfect world, Curry will carry this team to the playoffs, and he might still do that. But in a league with so much talent, asking four key guys all over the age of 35 to play big minutes is indeed risky.

Los Angeles Clippers

With the Kawhi Leonard situation still unclear, it’s difficult to currently evaluate the Clippers, given that Leonard is their best player, and we frankly aren’t sure of his involvement with the team next season.

Should he play, the Clippers will enter the year as one of the deepest squads in the association, right on the heels of having acquired all of John Collins, Bradley Beal, and Chris Paul.

The Clippers can realistically go 11 man deep during the regular season, which should provide them with an enormous leg up on the competition by the time the playoffs roll around.

Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers fans – and the Lakers themselves – all breathed a sigh of relief when Luka Dončić extended his contract with the organization earlier this month, locking himself into at least the next two seasons.

Only, now the real challenge begins as the franchise looks to find a long-term partner for Dončić, as LeBron James – now closing in on 41 years old – likely isn’t long for that franchise.

This season will balance two acts. The first being a push to go deep into the Western Conference playoffs, and the other identifying which team members to hang onto for the long haul.

Phoenix Suns

If nothing else, the Suns got younger this offseason, and will finally pivot into something that resembles a youth movement, after they sent Kevin Durant to Houston for players that included Jalen Green.

Of course, it needs to be mentioned that the Suns remain overloaded with shooting guards and wings, clearly lacking in the point guard department. Is this going to affect them this season? It seems almost impossible to imagine them running everything through Devin Booker.

Then again, the Suns aren’t exactly the most traditional franchise. At least not as of late. Perhaps they’ll lean into point Booker and get away with it, but it seems unrealistic to expect the franchise to make a deep playoff push. This year, more than anything, should be in the name of development.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings didn’t make a plethora of moves, nor did they really signal which way they’re going. If anything, the organization rolled back most of its roster, and looks primed to top out at somewhere between 39 and 42 wins, fighting for the bitter scraps of the play-in tournament.

They do have a highly potent scorer in Zach LaVine, but he’s once again miscast as a number one option – as was the case for years in Chicago. Could he become trade fodder near the deadline, or are they planning to build around him? Nobody seems to have a clear answer, including the Kings themselves.

Finally, this will be the make or break year for Keegan Murray, as he enters his fourth season. The 6’8 forward was projected to become a big time NBA scorer, but that has never materialized. Perhaps this is his chance to finally make the team his own.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.