DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray feigned ignorance about a Northwest Division that features some of the top teams and talents in the league.
“The Northwest?" the Denver Nuggets guard playfully replied. "What’s in the Northwest?”
Only the top three seeds in the West last season in Oklahoma City, his Nuggets and Minnesota. Only All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic.
“Sounds like a good division to me,” Murray quipped.
The Thunder, Nuggets and Timberwolves were all separated by just a game last season. It could be more of the same in this top-heavy division — Utah and Portland are in rebuilding mode — that did feature some significant shakeup ( see: Minnesota ).
Led by Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder are a team built for the grind of the regular season — and beyond. They're a favorite to come out of the West, according to BetMGM. Oklahoma City bolstered its roster by adding guard Alex Caruso, one of the league's top on-ball defenders, and big man Isaiah Hartenstein.
Minnesota orchestrated a seismic trade to pick up Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo from the New York Knicks for All-Star power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns. No one may be more relieved to see Towns leave town than Jokic and the Nuggets. Towns gave them all sorts of difficulties last season in a seven-game second-round playoff series with his ability to draw Jokic out to the perimeter.
Don't discount the Nuggets, who won their first NBA title in 2022-23. They boast a dynamic duo in Jokic and Murray. Fresh off a new contract, Murray is looking for a fast start that could net his first All-Star appearance. The Nuggets saw Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave but gained veteran guard Russell Westbrook.
For the Trail Blazers and Jazz, this season could be filled with more growing pains — and a fight to see who avoids finishing last in the West.
A look at each team in the Northwest Division, in predicted order of finish:
Oklahoma City Thunder
One of the youngest teams in the NBA last season, the Thunder quickly found their stride to earn the top seed in the West. Most of the core returns from a team that won a first-round playoff series before losing to Dallas.
Mark Daigneault, the reigning NBA coach of the year, has a nucleus powered by Gilgeous-Alexander — league's MVP runner-up last season — and Chet Holmgren, a 7-foot-1 post player who finished second in rookie of the year race. Jalen Williams made a giant leap last season and Lu Dort is one of the league’s top wing defenders. The Thunder also added Caruso in the offseason trade that sent Josh Giddey to Chicago.
This is a deep team poised to make a deep playoff run.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Though Edwards is just entering his prime years, the time is now for this group to take the next step after reaching the conference finals last season. After all, key cogs Mike Conley (37) and Rudy Gobert (32) aren't getting any younger.
Minnesota is trying to adjust to life without Towns, the team's No. 2 scorer last season. The Timberwolves replaced him with a three-time All-Star in Randle who averaged 23 points per game over the last three seasons for the Knicks. Minnesota also picked up a valuable shooter off the bench in DiVincenzo, who last season set career highs in games played (81), minutes per game (29.1), points per game (15.5) and 3-point shooting percentage (40.1).
Edwards has the potential to be a perennial All-NBA pick for the next decade, if not a league MVP, and he has plenty of confidence, determination and talent around him.
Denver Nuggets
Go ahead and pencil Jokic in for somewhere in the vicinity of 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and nine assists a night. That should put the Serbian big man once again in the thick of the MVP chase. He’s got a strong supporting cast with Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. Off the bench — or maybe even in the starting lineup — there’s Westbrook, the only active player who has more triple-doubles than Jokic (199 for Westbrook, 130 for Jokic). They have some up-and-comers in Christian Braun, Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther. Really, though, the path to another title rests on the playmaking of Murray. Should he be healthy and a version of “playoff Murray,” the sky’s the limit for the team in the Mile High City.
Utah Jazz
After striking out at luring big-name free agents to Salt Lake City during the offseason, the Jazz have pivoted to developing rookies and second-year players already on the roster. Lauri Markkanen cemented himself as the newest franchise cornerstone after signing a contract extension in August. Still, there’s little change in his supporting cast that's turned in back-to-back losing seasons under coach Will Hardy. On draft night, they took Cody Williams (10th overall), Isaiah Collier (29th) and Kyle Filipowski (32nd). Guard Keyonte George is coming off a solid rookie season where he averaged 13 points and 4.4 assists. If Utah’s on-ball defense and perimeter defense can become less of a liability in Hardy’s third season at the helm, the Jazz may exceed limited expectations.
Portland Trail Blazers
Their coach is now a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer. Chauncey Billups — aka “Mr. Big Shot” — enters his fourth season with the Blazers and looking for his first postseason appearance in charge of the team. They're firmly in rebuilding mode and didn’t make many offseason changes. Billups wants his team to “play fast.” They’re led by guard Anfernee Simons, who’s coming off a season where he averaged 22.6 points. Guard Scoot Henderson was the third overall pick in 2023 and showed flashes of his talent.
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AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt and Dave Campbell and AP Writer John Coon contributed to this report.
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Pat Graham, The Associated Press
