The Western Conference

The Western Conference is made up of 3 divisions.

1) The Pacific Division

2) The Northwest Division

3) The Southwest Division

Over the past couple of decades of the NBA, the West has tended to dominate over the Eastern Conference. Especially in terms of NBA Championships. Since 1999, 14/20. That means that the West has dominated 70% of the past 2 decades. These past few decades have seen the rise and fall of Superteams, especially in the past 3 decades. In the early 2000s, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant won 3 straight NBA Championships for the Los Angeles Lakers (2000 against the Pacers, 2001 against the 76ers and 2002 against the New Jersey Nets). In between that, over the next decade and a half, the San Antonio Spurs would win 5 championships (1999 against the Knicks, 2003 against the Nets, 2005 against the Pistons, 2007 against the Cavs, and 2014 against the Heat). The Shaq'Less Lakers, led only by Kobe Bryant, won 2 championships in a row (2009 against the Magic, 2010 against the Celtics). After the Lakers and Spurs superteams went under, the Golden State Warriors took over and became the franchise of the decade by going to 5 straight NBA Finals, winning 3 of them (2015,17, 18 all were against the Cavs, Lost 2019 against the Toronto Raptors)

## The Pacific Division

The Pacific Division has been the main staple of the Western Conference for the past decades. It is made up of most of the major teams of the Western Conference that people think of. The Teams Range from Northern Cali, down to Southern Cali, and into Arizona. The 5 Teams are the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings. The Championship Distribution for these teams goes LA Lakers = 23 titles (1st in the League), LA Clippers = 0 titles, Suns = 0 Titles, Warriors = 6 titles, Sacramento Kings = 1. Some of the most famous players for the Pacific Division have been Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaq, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson.

## The Northwest Division

The Northwest Division has been a lesser-known division of the Western Conference, with teams ranging from Utah to Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Oregon. The 6 Teams in the Northwest Division are the Denver Nuggets, the Utah Jazz, the OKC Thunder, the Portland Trailblazers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Title Distribution for these teams goes Nuggets = 0 titles, Utah = 0 titles, OKC = 1 title, Portland = 1 title, Minnesota = 0 titles. Some of the more famous stars from the Northwest Division are Kevin Garnett with the T-Wolves, Shawn Kemp with the Sonics (See OKC for more details on Sonics,) Damian Lillard with Portland, Russel Westbrook with OKC.

## The Southwest Division

The Southwest Division has become a division for newer franchises in the Western Conference. The 5 Teams are the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, and New Orleans Pelicans. The title spread for the conference has been San Antonio Spurs = 5 titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), Rockets = 2 titles (1994, 1995), Mavericks = 1 Title (2011), Grizzlies = 0 titles, New Orleans = 0 Titles. Some of the most notable stars from the Southwest Division are Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the Spurs, James Harden and Hakeem Olajuwon on the Rockets, Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis on the Pelicans