The Most Exciting Players In The NBA: Northwest Division

Photo Credit: Oklahoma City Thunder

Written By Cameron Little

The start of the NBA season is right around the corner we are going by division for the next six days to give you all the insight you need into who to expect to take the leap this year.

Oklahoma City Thunder 

I think everyone can agree this is the best young core in the league with exciting players at every position thanks in large part to GM Sam Presti, picking for the defending NBA Champs isn’t the most difficult task so let’s give it a shot.

I think my most exciting player other than the 2024/25 Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Jalen Williams would be Chet Holmgren touted as generational when he entered the league in 2022 he hasn’t quite become that player just yet for such a slim Centre/Forward he’s an interesting player to bookmark.

Holmgren was unfortunate only playing 32 games however going into his third season for OKC i think he could push higher into the top 5 Forwards/Centres averaging over 2 blocks a game and 15 points a game, I think they have a really high chance of going back to back with the squad they have and Chet will be front and centre of that effort. 

Denver Nuggets 

The Nuggets didn’t have as good a run last season as the year before but they still did have a good season former league MVP Nikola Jokic was unfortunate not to be crowned MVP once again after averaging 30, 13 and 10 having good defensive stats too with brilliant scoring efficiency the Serbian was once again a stat sheet stuffer.

Cameron Johnson is a good addition to this Nuggets team having his highest averages in his career last season for the Nets scoring well and helping them scrape any wins they could, I think it will be really interesting to see how he does in a more structured team whether he sinks or swims.

I think as a whole the Nuggets have a great chance to get to the finals even with just Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the pair really need very little to be added around them in order to make a winning team expect the nuggets to once again challenge. 

Minnesota Timberwolves 

The Timberwolves are a very fun team to watch even just for Anthony Edwards his off-field persona is enjoyable to watch along with his incredible ability as a superstar in the league and the best player in his position his attitude and ability alone makes Minnesota a good team.

However instead of naming the best player on the team I think the most exciting player to watch in this team is Jaden McDaniels the 24 year old has jumped up in defensive stats a fair bit and has locked down some of the best players in the league in certain games.

Jalen averages 12 points a game which is solid and off the ball plays really well for the team I do think he will make a jump coming into this season and help Ant and the Timberwolves make another good playoff run, it does remain to be seen whether he will be able to take a step into that elite level defence the Timberwolves would like from him. 

Portland Trailblazers 

I do genuinely believe this could be a fun team to watch this season with the sprinkle of good vets and good youth players the team is very well rounded and having Damian Lillard return to Portland as the scoring option to pair with Jrue Holiday as a good defender in the back court.

I think the most exciting part of this team (other than Lillard being back) would be Shaedon Sharpe averaging almost 19 points in your third year is great for a 22 year old his efficiency isn’t amazing but in the struggling season they had last season he had to take more shots I think this season is where he thrives around this well balanced team.

I do also believe Scoot Henderson will have a similar role to play as Shaedon where the spotlight and the attention will not be on their failures to perform this season due to there being stars back in Rip City with all eyes being on the performances of established veterans.

Utah Jazz 

Being the worst team in the Western Conference isn’t a confidence booster going into the new season the Jazz have a lot of work to do to arrest the failure of last season creeping into this one, Utah do have some solid players and I don't think they will be at the bottom this season.

For me I do think Ace Bailey can become a key part in this team, after watching him in College for Rutgers I do think that he is easily the second best forward in the draft and being the fifth pick tells us that NBA executives feel the same way.

Ace didn’t have the most exciting summer league but I do think he could show some promise this season and develop into a great player in the future the Jazz will be desperate to see some spark this season in order to prevent getting stuck in a rut, fast forwarding the development of Bailey would absolutely not be the worst scenario.