The 2025-26 NBA regular season is nearly here, with less than a week until games start to impact the playoff race. In preparation for the year ahead, the Sportscasting crew teamed up to highlight one key stat for every team that could have significant implications for their success or lack thereof this year. Up next is the Northwest Division.
Let’s get to it.
Read our one key stat for teams in other Divisions: Central / Atlantic / Southeast
Denver Nuggets: 18.5
During his final season with the Denver Nuggets in 2024-25, Michael Porter Jr. recorded an assist percentage of 8.7. Over the past three years, that mark is 7.1 percent. During his final season with the Brooklyn Nets in 2024-25, Cameron Johnson recorded a career-high assist percentage of 18.5. Over the past three years, his assist percentage is double that of Porter’s at 14.2.
While the contrasting playmaking rates are partially tied to varying offensive roles — Porter as a tertiary cog, Johnson as a feature player — they also underscore the added dynamism Denver has incorporated by swapping Porter for Johnson. Whether it be dribble handoffs, side pick-and-rolls or wide-ranging options against closeouts, Johnson is a much more natural complementary ball-handler than Porter while maintaining his movement and off-ball shooting chops (career 39.2 percent from deep). He’s capable of rising for midrange pull-ups, finding teammates as a playmaker or curling to the rim for finishes.
As potent as the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets are offensively, they have occasionally grown predictable, spamming Jokic-Jamal Murray actions, sometimes to a fault, with nowhere else to turn. Johnson’s arrival can help counter those pitfalls. He’ll provide Jokic with another dribble-pass-shoot partner alongside Murray and potentially offer better solutions whenever Jokic sits. That shiny assist rate is among the reasons why. -Jackson Frank
Minnesota Timberwolves: 14.6
While the Minnesota Timberwolves pack a ton of offensive firepower, spearheaded by Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, they do not handle the ball as efficiently as other offensively dominant teams do. The Wolves were eighth in offensive rating last season, putting up 115.7 points per 100 possessions. But they were the only team in the top 10 to rank among the bottom half in turnover rate.
The Wolves ranked 19th in turnover percentage last season, coughing up the ball on 14.6 percent of their possessions. A lot of that comes down to Edwards’ and Randle’s ability to handle ball pressure and make better decisions in the half-court. Of players with a usage rate higher than 24 percent, Randle and Edwards ranked in the bottom 20 in turnover ratio. They combined to average over six turnovers per game last season.
Minnesota has knocked on the door of the NBA Finals two years in a row. If it wants to get over the hump, it has to do a better job of dealing with pressure. That starts with the two stars. -Es Baraheni
Oklahoma City Thunder: 8
All eyes are on the Oklahoma City Thunder as they try to repeat this season as NBA champs. But all eyes means scouts, coaches, front office executives and schmucks like me watched their dominant 2024-2025 campaign to find a weakness.
It starts on offense. While the Thunder steamrolled through the regular season to the tune of 68 wins and the second-best offense in the NBA, the postseason was a different animal. In the playoffs, the Thunder’s half-court offensive rating dipped by eight points per 100 possessions — the second-largest differential of any team to make the second round in 2025.
For a multitude of reasons, they began to stagnate. Teams in the playoffs were more prepared and, over the course of a series, will figure out the habits and tendencies of their opponents. The Thunder offense often became predictable, reliant on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams to bail out possessions time and time again.
That’s not necessarily a terrible solution. But it’ll be hard to rely on that once more if they want to be the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017-18. The Thunder have to look to involve Chet Holmgren more offensively. They need to empower their role players, such as Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort, to expand their games and confidence and become less one-track minded come playoff time.
The Thunder’s goal this season should be to diversify their offense. They’ll be better for it come April. -Es Baraheni
Portland Trail Blazers: 31
The Portland Trail Blazers enter the 2025-26 season on the rise but they still face many questions. How much are we going to see first-round pick Hansen Yang? Jerami Grant is still here, so does that mean sophomore standout Toumani Camara gets the boot from the starting lineup, even though the Blazers have been much better with him on the court in his first two seasons?
One thing, though, is for sure. If the Blazers do take the step forward many hope to see, their defense will be leading the charge. Though they finished just 17th in defensive rating last season, that belies the progress head coach Chauncey Billups saw from his young team on that end of the floor. They were the 10th-rated half-court defense on the year, per Cleaning the Glass, but the stingiest half-court defense in the league post-All-Star Break. Sure, the Oklahoma City Thunder were running away with the West’s No. 1 seed by that point but first is first.
Portland plays plenty of drop coverage with its bigs – why wouldn’t you with 7-foot-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan now starting at center? – but this is no conservative defense. The Blazers forced plenty of turnovers last season and, during the post-All-Star stretch, gave up the second-fewest 3-point attempts in the league. Their one issue, even during their elite stretches, was defensive rebounding.
The Blazers’ opponents snagged 31 percent of their own misses last season, the fourth-highest rate in the league. The three teams worse than them finished 19th, 27th and 29th in defensive rating. That the Blazers could be that promising on defense, that active, despite so often failing to finish the possession is mind-blowing.
It’s all context-dependent, right? Portland’s overall defense suffered because of a lackluster offense last season, putting it in uncomfortable transition situations. And while the Blazers should be better this season, a Jrue Holiday-Shaedon Sharpe-Scoot Henderson ball-handling room brings many questions.Â
Deni Avdija is about to play the heftiest offensive role of his promising career. But no matter what, if Portland can right its rebounding wrongs this season, with much of it falling on Clingan’s shoulders, we could be looking at a truly great defensive team. -Lucas Kaplan
Utah Jazz: 10
The Utah Jazz have toiled in the NBA’s basement for the last couple of seasons without a coherent identity aside from stacking draft picks and prospects. Since Utah traded Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert away before the 2022-23 season, it’s fielded a putrid defense. In 2022-23, though, then-new head coach Will Hardy commandeered the league’s 10th-rated offense with a rag-tag group of players.
Talen Horton-Tucker, Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton and Kelly Olynyk were Utah’s five highest usage players in 2023. Even without any established offensive starpower, Hardy’s inventive off-ball offense and spacing created great shots and fueled Markkanen’s first and only All-Star campaign.Â
Utah hasn’t replicated that offensive success since, finishing 17th and 24th in offensive rating in 2023-24 and 2024-25. If the Jazz hope to construct an identity beyond endlessly tanking, returning to potent offensive form would help. This time, Utah traded journeyman veterans for first-round rookies, boosting the ceiling and lowering the floor of the unit.
Markkanen is still in town, ready for his elite off-ball movement and shooting to unlock everyone else’s offense. Beyond Hardy and Markkanen, Utah will need steps forward from its most promising young prospects. Can Isaiah Collier take steps as a scorer? How will Ace Bailey fit in as a rookie? Will Brice Sensaubaugh crack the rotation? Utah must answer one or multiple of these questions to avoid the dregs of the Western Conference this season. -Ben Pfeifer
