2025 NBA Season: Best Players in the Western Conference

Entering the 2025-26 National Basketball Association season, bragging rights in NBA odds belong to the Western Conference after the Oklahoma City Thunder won the title last season. 

It’s no surprise the Thunder are the 5-2 (+250) favorites to repeat as of this mid-October writing, though the competition around the conference won’t make it easy. There are any number of the best NBA players plying their craft in the Northwest, Southwest and Pacific Divisions.

It’s a good place to start with the defending scoring champ and league MVP winner. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder. He and three-time MVP award winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets are co-choices in NBA MVP odds at 9-4 (+225) to win the honor in 2025-26.

Looking at the board, it’s the West with more of the choices, including Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers (7-2, [+350]), Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs (12-1, [+1200]) and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (22-1, [+2200]).

…and lest one forget the Western Conference also features some guys named Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors), LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers), Anthony Davis (Dallas Mavericks), Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies), Kevin Durant (Houston Rockets) and Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), 

Among NBA expert picks, it’s someone out of the Western Conference who’s expected to win the MVP hardware with the start of the regular season less than a week away.

Here’s a primer on those ranked among the association’s best ahead of the 2025-26 season…

Who is the Best Player in the NBA?

Choosing the best NBA players is quite subjective. Let’s rewind to 2024-25 as a start. It was a season to remember with the champion Oklahoma City Thunder and their star. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not only led the league in scoring (32.7 points per game), he was the winner of the MVP award.

As was mentioned, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander and thrice-an-MVP-winner Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets as arguably the two best players in the league. There’s no one regularly stuffing a stat sheet nearly as well as Jokic, who ended 2024-25 averaging 29.6 points (career-high), 12.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists. 

It’s no surprise that SGA and the Joker enter this season co-favored in NBA MVP odds.

By the way, Jokic and his three honors joins some pretty fair company in (alphabetically) Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone.  

     
Which NBA Players Are Hot Right Now? 

Games don’t count as of this writing, so a ‘glass half-full’ observer can say everyone is hot. However, that changes with the opening tip of the season, as any fan or bettor knows. Trick is to find an under-the-radar player who may be looking at a big or bounce-back season in 2025-26.  

How Many NBA Pros Are There?

NBA news reminds us there are 30 teams in the league, with 15 in both conferences (Eastern and Western). Each team can have a maximum of 18 players under contract, with 15 as ‘standard’ contracts and three as ‘two-way contracts.’ 

Fast math says that’s 540 as the max number of players in the league. As a side note, there are a maximum dozen players who may be in uniform each game on any team.  

Any Final Thoughts?

According to NBA championship odds, the OKC Thunder are solid choices to successfully defend their title. There are 29 other teams out to stop that.