The Oklahoma City Thunder, winner of 57 games a year ago, is expected to be the favorite to win the Western Conference this season with the additions of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. Who might put a pin in OKC’s chase to top 57 wins, and who might rival it in the race for the No. 1 seed?

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Dallas Mavericks

After outplaying the Thunder in May’s West semifinals, the Mavericks got better.

They added Warriors legend Klay Thompson, who remains a scoring threat even on the backend of his career. They lost a lob threat in Derrick Jones Jr. but swapped him for a sound wing in Naji Marshall. Quentin Grimes should be helpful, too.

Whether the Mavericks punched above their weight and found momentum at the right time en route to an NBA Finals berth is an entirely different discussion. What isn’t up for debate is how high the team’s floor has been since last February’s deadline, and how this squad might be as immune to the spells of the regular season as any in the Luka Doncic era.

Should Dallas prioritize the regular season, it could outgrow its affinity for the fourth-and-fifth seed postseason matchup.

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Minnesota Timberwolves

Part of a three-way tie for the West’s regular season crown leading up to the last game of the season, Minnesota is back to mount the conference.

Anthony Edwards is a year older, back from his explosive run to Olympic gold. The majority of the core that helped it reach last season’s West finals has returned, and while Minnesota’s summer wasn’t as newsworthy as Oklahoma City’s, rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. are notable.

Quiet summer or not, Minnesota will win plenty of games so long as Edwards continues to blossom and the defense continues to stifle.

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Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets chose future flexibility over maximizing hope in its handling of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope this summer. But there’s always hope with Nikola Jokic around.

Even while it seems that Denver’s championship hopes aren’t as obvious as they were, it still has the best player in the world, which is good enough to win most nights. Question Denver’s decision making, question Jamal Murray’s value without Jokic, but withhold any questions about the three-time MVP.

Its postseason path is a different story: Minnesota proved that having the best player in any series might not be enough in a Western Conference with so much parity. But as far as the regular season goes, Denver remains firmly in the mix.

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Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis’ return to relevance feels like a shot from a cannon inside a circus of a Western Conference.

While the Grizzlies should return to a place among the top seeds in the West, their reemergence won’t come without questions.

How important will rookie Zach Edey need to be? Memphis undoubtedly has questions at center, and his polarizing presence could help if his strengths — screening, offensive rebounding, being taller than most — outweigh anything he’s been critiqued about.

Above all, Ja Morant is electric. In the mere nine games he played a season ago, the world was reminded of that. What he offers as he inches toward his prime should hardly be a question. But behind him, with a couple revelatory core pieces that came out of a down year, can Memphis recreate its regular season magic?

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Phoenix Suns

Phoenix’s potentially grim future outlook doesn’t have so much bearing on what they can be this season.

And while the Suns are surely in a different tier than several, if not all of these teams, it has the potential to make some regular season noise.

Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal enter their second, full-length seasons with Phoenix. The Suns added a starting caliber point guard in Tyus Jones and another decent guard in Monte Morris. Its recent moves cleared the way for some potential deadline action.

Its frontcourt remains underwhelming, especially in a postseason setting, but its regular season outlook can still be interesting.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NBA teams challenging Thunder as 2024-25 Western Conference favorite