AI Predicted Every NBA Western Conference Team’s 2025/26 Record

As it often has been over the years, the NBA’s Western Conference is looking like a real murderer’s row of elite basketball teams heading into the 2025/26 season. Whether it’s key free agent signings, explosive trades or genius draft picks, a number of teams in the conference have made all the right moves to improve during the offseason.

The arrival of Kevin Durant has made the Houston Rockets a serious contender and drafting Cooper Flag has given the Dallas Mavericks an excellent opportunity to enter the post-Luka Doncic era with a bang. The defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, have kept their core together and look poised to dominate the NBA again this year after an incredible run to the title last time out.

All in all, there’s going to be carnage in the Western Conference and you’d be a fool to try and predict how things are going to play out over the course of 82 games. Still, that’s what AI has done, projecting each team’s number of wins, losses and their final position in the conference, with some surprising results.

15

Utah Jazz – 22 Wins & 60 Losses

This offseason, the Utah Jazz traded away proven talent like Jordan Clarkson and turned their attention to the future, drafting promising young Ace Bailey, and trading for the rights to Walter Clayton Jr. The exciting prospects deliver a sense of optimism for a franchise that has been spinning its wheels over the last few years, but there’s going to be growing pains.

As such, ChatGPT has predicted that the Jazz will win just 22 games this season, finishing dead last in the Western Conference as a result. Lauri Markannen will deliver some high points, but they will likely be few and far between.

14

San Antonio Spurs – 28 Wins & 54 Losses

Perhaps the most surprising prediction made by AI, it’s tipped the San Antonio Spurs to win just 28 games this season and finish second bottom in the West. Victor Wembanyama is expected to make a huge leap this year, entering the MVP race. De’Aaron Fox will settle into his new surroundings after his midseason trade last time out and they’ve got another highly-rated prospect in the form of Dylan Harper arriving.

The future is incredibly bright for the Spurs, and it won’t be long before they’re competing deep into the playoffs, with championships potentially on the cards too, but for now, they’ve been tipped to struggle again.

13

New Orleans Pelicans – 30 Wins & 52 Losses

If Zion Williamson can figure out how to stay healthy and play regularly for the New Orleans Pelicans, they could be a problem for the Western Conference. The issue is that he hasn’t proven himself able to do that throughout his time in the NBA so far and it isn’t expected to change this year.

After trading away Brandon Ingram in February and drafting a project in Derik Queen, the Pelicans sent a message to their fanbase. It’s time to rebuild and as such, they aren’t expected to do much winning this season. With that said, AI thinks they’ll still pick up 30 victories and finish 13th in the conference.

12

Phoenix Suns – 35 Wins & 47 Losses

After putting together a big three with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, things didn’t go to plan for the Phoenix Suns and they’ve since moved Beal and Durant on. Booker remains with the franchise, though, and considering his status as one of the best shooting guards in the NBA, the Suns will always stand a chance of winning.

The team surrounding him is not on his level, though, and ChatGPT thinks that they will finish 12th in the West, one place lower than they did in the 2024/25 season, winning 35 games and losing 47 in the process.

11

Sacramento Kings – 38 Wins & 44 Losses

Just a few short years ago, the Sacramento Kings were one of the feel-good stories in the NBA, making it back into the playoffs and ‘lighting the beam’ after a long absence from the postseason. Things haven’t gone to plan since, though, and AI thinks they’ll just miss out on the play-in tournament this season, finishing 11th.

The decision to trade away De’Aaaron Fox has hurt them on the court and while Domantas Sabonis is a very good player and has carried the franchise at times recently, ChatGPT doesn’t think he’ll be able to drag the team into the top 10 this year.

10

Portland Trail Blazers – 40 Wins & 42 Losses

After an abysmal 2023/24 season, the Portland Trail Blazers took a huge step forward last time out and that’s expected to continue this year, with AI predicting that they will make it into the play-in tournament and finish just under .500. Encouraged by what they saw last time out, the Trail Blazers head office has made moves with an eye to win now.

They’ve added solid talent in Jrue Holiday and brought back franchise hero, Damian Lillard. The latter won’t help much this season, having torn his achilles last year, but AI still thinks that the Blazers will have enough about them to make it to the play-in tournament. Whether they’ll then progress to the playoffs remains to be seen.

9

Dallas Mavericks – 42 Wins & 40 Losses

It’s the start of a brand-new era in Dallas. The shocking departure of franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic earlier this year signalled that. The move surprised everyone in the NBA and many thought the Dallas Mavericks were about to enter a rebuilding period, but they hit the jackpot when they landed the number one NBA draft pick and took Cooper Flag.

The rookie is expected to achieve great things in the association and if he lives up to expectations, he’ll be a worthy replacement for Doncic. Alongside him this season, he’ll be playing with the likes of sharpshooter Klay Thompson and Anthony Davis. It’s a solid foundation and despite Kyrie Irving being on the shelf as things stand, ChatGPT thinks the Mavs will finish with a positive record and in the play-in places.

8

Memphis Grizzlies – 44 Wins & 38 Losses

One place ahead of Dallas, AI has predicted the Memphis Grizzlies will finish with 44 wins and 38 losses. That’s a slight regression on their record for the 2024/25 campaign. This summer, they traded sharpshooter Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and a handful of draft picks. They’ve since waived Anthony, but Caldwell-Pope could be a key figure for the team this year.

Still, Bane is one of the greatest three-point shooters in the entire NBA and losing him will almost certainly have a negative impact on Memphis. As a result, they’ve been tipped to take a step back from last season, but still finish in eighth place.

7

Golden State Warriors – 45 Wins & 37 Losses

One win ahead of Memphis, and taking the final spot in the play-in, is the Golden State Warriors. That’s according to AI at least, with ChatGPT tipping them to win 45 games this season. With a superstar like Steph Curry on the books, Golden State will always be in with a shout of achieving great things, but their stars are aging now.

The acquisition of Jimmy Butler midway through the 2024/25 season breathed new life into the Warriors and gave them an incredible lift throughout the latter portion of the campaign. Whether that will carry over into this year remains to be seen, but AI still expects them to win plenty of games.

6

Minnesota Timberwolves – 46 Wins & 36 Losses

The first team to automatically make the playoffs in the Western Conference, according to AI, will be the Minnesota Timberwolves. With the likes of Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert leading the way, they’ve been tipped to win 46 games this season, finishing sixth in the process.

The rise of Edwards has been a joy to behold for fans over the last few years, with the shooting guard drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant for his sheer determination and winning mentality on the court. He’s led the Wolves to back-to-back conference finals in the last two years, but if they’re to return again, ChatGPT thinks they’ll have to do so as the sixth seed.