NBA Standings: Golden State and Phoenix are competing in an extremely sad race
A little over halfway through the 2024-25 NBA season, the playoff picture is coming into focus and we have an idea of which teams are competing for which playoff seeds.
The Western Conference boasts strong contenders at the top, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and the Denver Nuggets, teams who could realistically win it all come June.
Meanwhile, on the opposite end, teams like the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns are fighting for the last postseason spot.
Subscribe to The Whiteboard,FanSided's daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don't like it, share it with an enemy!
Call it a fall from grace or a complete tragedy, but the once promising franchises vying for the NBA Championship just a few seasons ago find themselves fighting to make the postseason despite fielding a roster with bona fide superstars.
Western Conference standings
SEED | TEAM | RECORD |
|---|---|---|
1 | Thunder | 43-9 |
2 | Grizzlies | 35-17 |
3 | Nuggets | 35-19 |
4 | Lakers | 32-19 |
5 | Rockets | 33-20 |
6 | Clippers | 29-23 |
7 | Timberwolves | 30-24 |
8 | Mavericks | 28-26 |
9 | Kings | 27-26 |
10 | Warriors | 27-26 |
11 | Suns | 26-26 |
12 | Spurs | 23-28 |
13 | Trail Blazers | 23-31 |
14 | Jazz | 12-40 |
15 | Pelicans | 12-41 |
The Warriors currently hold the 10h and final play-in spot at 27-26. The Suns are hot on their tail at 26-26. Coming into the season, there were expectations for both clubs to fight for a title, not a spot in the Play-In Tournament.
Though they are a little older, the Warriors still have Stephen Curry, who can fill it up on any night. After the trade deadline, they recently added Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat and Draymond Green continues to be one of the better defensive players in the league.
The Suns have their big three in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal. Booker is still one of the best shooting guards in the league, Durant can drop 27 in his sleep and Beal has settled into a nice role as a gunner off the bench. The problems have been about their lack of defense and depth.
There is still plenty of season left and both teams have a chance to climb into the playoff mix and contend for the sixth seed, currently held by the Los Angeles Clippers. However, they'll need to elevate their play significantly to make that push.
feed