My NBA preview for the 2026 season will conclude with the Pacific Division, which should be one of the strongest in the league.
Los Angeles Clippers
Additions: John Collins, Bradley Beal, Brook Lopez, Chris Paul, Yanic Konan Niederhauser (30th pick in 2025 Draft)
Subtractions: Norman Powell, Amir Coffey, Drew Eubanks, Ben Simmons, Patty Mills
Other: Re-signed James Harden
Outlook: It’s been a while since we’ve written or talked about the Clippers as an actual basketball team, as all discussion around the team for the past few weeks has been related to the Kawhi Leonard-Steve Ballmer-Aspiration story. After examining every other team’s depth chart for this exercise, it really does stand out how incredible the Clippers’ depth is. The Clippers go 11 deep in actual, good NBA rotation players, which is pretty much unheard of in the modern NBA. The Clippers’ biggest issue, once more, is age, as Harden, Kawhi, Brook, Batum, and CP3 are all in their mid to late 30s with Beal, Bogi, and Dunn in their early 30s. That makes age-related decline and injury woes more likely for the Clippers than other teams. Of course, depth makes it so that even if one or two players get injured the Clippers should weather the storm, but the Clippers are certainly precarious in that regard. On the court, there would be related worries about athleticism and ability to keep up with younger teams. I think the Clippers should once again be an excellent regular season squad, but I am skeptical about them making a long playoff run.
Prediction: 51-31 (Last year predicted 43-39, actually 50-32)
Los Angeles Lakers
Additions: De’Andre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, Marcus Smart, Adou Thiero (36th pick in 2025 Draft)
Subtractions: Dorian Finney-Smith, Jordan Goodwin, Shake Milton, Trey Jemison
Other: Signed Luka Doncic to a max extension, re-signed Jaxson Hayes
Outlook: The Lakers will have Luka Doncic, one of the best floor-raising players in the entire NBA, on their roster for a full season. They still have LeBron James and Austin Reaves. JJ Redick acquitted himself quite well in his coaching debut last year. The Lakers did a solid job in rounding out the roster with competent veterans who make sense around their stars. So why am I not higher on this team? Well, for as good as Luka is, historically his teams have been better in the postseason than in the regular season. LeBron was still awesome last year, but he’s one year older and he consistently misses games nowadays. I love Marcus Smart, but he has not been particularly healthy or effective the past two seasons. Ayton should be solid enough on both sides of the ball, but relying on him for heavy-duty center minutes with the backups being Hayes and small-ball with Jarred Vanderbilt is not super encouraging. On the whole, I think the Lakers will be quite good, and if they get to the playoffs healthy will be a fearsome opponent.
Prediction: 50-32 (Last year predicted 42-40, actually 50-32)
Golden State Warriors
Additions: Al Horford (predicted), De’Anthony Melton (predicted)
Subtractions: Kevon Looney, Lindy Waters III, Kevin Knox
Other: Jonathan Kuminga is still in restricted free agency, predicted to re-sign Gary Payton II
Outlook: The Warriors are nearly impossible to predict this season, as they currently just have 10 players on their roster (one of which is a two-way) with less than two weeks until training camp begins. The hold up is Jonathan Kuminga, who sits in limbo in restricted free agency, and at this point seems likely to accept the qualifying offer to return for one year. The Warriors have other moves lined up, the most notable being the signing of Al Horford, but none of it can be official until the Kuminga business is over. The Warriors have a strong core and some promising young players, but the Kuminga drama seems like it will carry on throughout the season, and that tension plus the age of Steph, Draymond, and Jimmy Butler makes it hard for me to imagine this team as a regular season juggernaut.
Prediction: 46-36 (Last year predicted 44-38, actually 48-34)
Sacramento Kings
Additions: Dennis Schroder, Nique Clifford (24th pick in 2025 Draft), Maxime Raynaud (42nd pick in 2025 Draft), Drew Eubanks, Dario Saric
Subtractions: Trey Lyles, Jonas Valanciunas, Jake LaRavia, Markelle Fultz, Jae Crowder, Terence Davis
Other: Re-signed Doug McDermott
Outlook: The Kings seem determined to be as thoroughly middle-of-the-road as possible, bringing in a roster that has some promising young players (Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, Nique Clifford) but is overwhelmingly dominated by floor-raising yet ceiling-limited veterans (Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine). The Kings definitely have talent, and there’s way too much veteran competence for them to be awful. At the same time, there are major fit issues with their key players, defense feels like it will be a major struggle, and the West has gotten better while the Kings have stagnated. The Kings could win anywhere from 32 to 42 games and it wouldn’t surprise me, but this franchise seems on a direct line towards irrelevance once more.
Prediction: 37-45 (Last year predicted 47-35, actually 40-42)
Phoenix Suns
Additions: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Khaman Maluach (10th pick in 2025 Draft), Rasheer Fleming (31st pick in 2025 Draft), Nigel Hayes-Davis, Jordan Goodwin, Jared Butler
Subtractions: Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Tyus Jones, Mason Plumlee, Monte Morris, Bol Bol, TyTy Washington, Vasilije Micic, Cody Martin
Other: Signed Devin Booker to a max extension, replaced Mike Budenholzer with Jordan Ott as head coach, Re-signed Collin Gillespie
Outlook: The Suns have pivoted to a new phase around superstar Devin Booker, and their moves this summer were not all bad. Sure, trading away Kevin Durant hurt – and getting the overpaid, chucking Jalen Green back as one of the centerpieces of that deal hurts just as much. However, I liked the Khaman Maluach and Rasheer Fleming picks in the draft, and the Suns seem to be re-orienting to younger pieces. There are still veterans on this roster, like Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, and the newly arrived Dillon Brooks, but more attention will be on players with upside, like Mark Williams, Ryan Dunn, and their rookies. The Suns will probably be pretty bad but not one of the worst teams in the league, and might even be an entertaining watch. After a couple of years of brutal disappointment, Suns fans could honestly be pleased with that result.
Prediction: 29-53 (Last year predicted 48-34, actually 36-46)
