Get that “Roundball Rock” ready: The 2025-26 regular season of the NBA opens tonight. Following another offseason of roster changes, new developments and incoming rookies, all 30 teams are set to go. After inspecting each team, one trend is now apparent more than ever: conference disparity.
This season, the fate of all but two Eastern Conference teams — the Cavaliers and Knicks — is questionable.
The Cleveland Cavaliers — driving a hard bargain
Despite a second-round exit in the playoffs last season, the Cavaliers retained their award-winning core: 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, 2025 All-NBA First Team shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, 2025 All-Star point guard Darius Garland and 2025 Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson.
The caveat to trusting Believeland is that the Cavaliers lost their 2025 Sixth Man of the Year finalist in guard Ty Jerome and replaced him with Lonzo Ball. Furthermore, their total salary payroll for this season sits at about $230 million, which is about $22 million over the NBA second apron.
Long story short, if the Cavaliers experience any injury or winning troubles this season, this new financial rule — a result of the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement — leaves them with little wiggle room to make roster moves.
It’s not an overstatement to say it is now or never for this Cavaliers core to perform to their fullest potential.
The New York Knicks — and their unequivocal adversaries
After reaching the conference finals last season, the Knicks are back with their core of 2025 All-NBA Second Team point guard Jalen Brunson and 2025 All-NBA Third Team center Karl-Anthony Towns. This team also features a strong supporting cast, which includes forward OG Anunoby and wings Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart.
To boot, Mike Brown — a two-time Coach of the Year winner who was hired during the offseason — has already taken steps toward freeing up the talented offense from former Head Coach Tom Thibodeau’s structured playbook. Brown did not install any designed offensive plays during the 2025 preseason.
Another expected focus of Brown’s is giving the starters rest throughout the regular season. Last season, all five of the Knicks’ starters ended in the top 20 for minutes per game in the league.
Brown will have solid options on the bench to pull from, such as guard Jordan Clarkson, power forward Guerschon Yabusele, guard Miles “Deuce” McBride and center Mitchell Robinson.
If any team is best positioned to prevail at the end of the long season and lead the Eastern Conference, it’s the Knicks.
Looking at the Western Conference, though, even the Knicks do not stand a chance. The Western Conference has three teams I would undoubtedly take over the Knicks.
To start, the reigning NBA champions — the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The 2024-25 Thunder were a historically good team. This team had the highest scoring differential in league history and recorded 40 of their 68 victories by 15 or more points.
The scary thing? The Thunder’s young core has only gained more experience. Meanwhile, General Manager Sam Presti stills sits on his treasure trove of draft picks and manageable contracts that can keep the team dominant for years to come.
The next best option in the Western Conference is the Denver Nuggets.
2024 MVP Nikola Jokić — last season’s league leader in efficiency rating — alone is enough to trust the Nuggets.
Jokić is in luck, as he has the best supporting cast he has ever had in his career. Replacing forward Michael Porter Jr, forward Dario Šarić and point guard Russell Westbrook with forward Cameron Johnson, guard Bruce Brown, wing Tim Hardaway Jr. and center Jonas Valančiūnas is an upgrade across the board.
Only two years removed from their last championship, Jokić and the Nuggets should still have the motivation to chase a ring before he becomes bored and rides off into the sunset on one of his favorite ponies.
The Houston Rockets — striking while the iron is hot
The No. 2 seed from last season made the gutsy move of acquiring 15-time All Star Kevin Durant: a signal that their young core is prepared to win now.
A potentially season-ending injury to starting point guard Fred VanVleet puts the Rockets out of kilter to begin this season. However, the presence of 2025 All-Defensive First Team small forward Amen Thompson, 2025 All Star center Alperen Sengun and additions like forward Dorian Finney-Smith and center Clint Capela still make this team a terrifying matchup.
West for the win
Beyond these three top dogs, the Western Conference has more depth than the Eastern Conference.
Last season, there was an 11-game difference between the No. 3 seed and the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the Western Conference, that difference was just two games.
Teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs remain hungry for a spot at the top of the Western Conference.
Due to the Eastern Conference’s many injuries and inept organizations, — paired with its less talented rosters, name recognition and interesting storylines — the Western Conference will shine more than ever this NBA season.
Is this an issue that will get fixed? For now, it is difficult to say. The idea of league expansion has been floated the past few years — but where the new teams would go, if it can actually happen and if it would fix the problem have yet to be determined.