Western Conference (NBA)

The Western Conference is one of two conferences that make up the National Basketball Association (NBA), the other being the Eastern Conference. Both conferences consist of 15 teams organized into three divisions. The Western Conference comprises the Northwest, Pacific, and Southwest Divisions.

The current divisional alignment was adopted at the start of the 2004–05 season, when the now Charlotte Hornets began play as the NBA's 30th franchise. This necessitated the move of the New Orleans Pelicans (named New Orleans Hornets at the time) from the Eastern Conference's Central Division to the newly created Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

The NBA first started awarding a Western Conference championship trophy during the 2000–01 season, renaming it after Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in the 2021–22 season. Also in 2021–22, the league began awarding the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Trophy to the Western Conference Finals Most Valuable Player, named after Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

2024–25 standings

Notes
* z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
* y – Clinched division title
* pi – Clinched play-in tournament spot (locked into a play-in spot but not able to clinch a playoff spot directly)
* x – Clinched playoff spot
* * – Division leader
* o– Eliminated from the playoffs

Teams

Former teams

;Notes
* denotes an expansion team.
* denotes a team that merged from the American Basketball Association (ABA).

Team timeline

DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:25
Period = from:1970 till:2020
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PlotArea = right:60 left:20 bottom:20 top:0

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width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1980 text: Chicago Bulls (1970–1980)
bar:2 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1978 text: Detroit Pistons (1970–1978)
bar:3 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Los Angeles Lakers (1970–present)
bar:4 color:tan2 from:1970 till:1980 text: Milwaukee Bucks (1970–1980)
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Phoenix Suns (1970–present)
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Portland Trail Blazers (1970–present)
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1970 till:1972 text: San Diego / Houston Rockets (1970–1972, 1980–present)
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: San Francisco / Golden State Warriors (1970–present)
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1970 till:end text: Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (1970–present)
bar:10 color:tan1 from:1972 till:end text: Kansas City-Omaha / Kansas City / Sacramento Kings (1972–present)
bar:11 color:tan1 from:1976 till:end text: Denver Nuggets (1976–present)
bar:12 color:tan2 from:1976 till:1979 text: Indiana Pacers (1976–1979)
bar:13 color:tan1 from:1978 till:end text: San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers (1978–present)
bar:14 color:tan1 from:1979 till:end text: Utah Jazz (1979–present)
bar:15 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end text: Dallas Mavericks (1980–present)
bar:16 color:tan1 from:1980 till:end text: San Antonio Spurs (1980–present)
bar:17 color:tan2 from:1988 till:1989 text: Miami Heat (1988–1989)
bar:18 color:tan2 from:1989 till:1990 text: Charlotte Hornets (1989–1990)
bar:19 color:tan1 from:1989 till:end text: Minnesota Timberwolves (1989–present)
bar:20 color:tan2 from:1990 till:1991 text: Orlando Magic (1990–1991)
bar:21 color:tan1 from:1995 till:end text: Vancouver Grizzlies / Memphis Grizzlies (1995–present)
bar:22 color:tan1 from:2004 till:end text: New Orleans Hornets / Pelicans (2004–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:3 start:1970

Conference champions

Conference championships by team

^Note: Milwaukee joined the Eastern Conference during the 1980–81 season.

Season results

Notes

* The New Orleans Hornets temporarily relocated to Oklahoma City due to the effect of Hurricane Katrina. The majority of home games were played in Oklahoma City, while a few remained in New Orleans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Western Conference (Nba)
Western Conference (NBA)
Sports in the Western United States