NBA Western Conference Season Preview

Opening night is right around the corner, and the Western Conference race will be shaped as much by the training room as by the rotation.

Below are the six injury situations that matter most out West, followed by a team-by-team rundown of everyone else on the report.

Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors

Butler tore his right ACL on an awkward landing in a Jan. 19 win over Miami, in the middle of a 12-4 Warriors surge in which he was averaging more than 20 points, and Golden State never recovered on its way to a play-in exit. ESPN's Anthony Slater reported in September that strength testing showed notable progress, but he called a January or February return an optimistic target with plenty of checkpoints left. Age is the wild card: Butler turned 37 in September, and no NBA player that old has successfully come back from a torn ACL. He also becomes extension-eligible on Feb. 6, five days before the trade deadline, so his first few weeks back could decide whether the Warriors commit to him or reshape the roster around Stephen Curry.

Kristaps Porzingis, Golden State Warriors

GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. announced on Sept. 28 that Porzingis was out indefinitely with a health issue that popped up just as he looked ready for camp, and he stayed in the Bay Area while the team trained in Hawaii. The tone has darkened since: on Oct. 6 Steve Kerr said he had not seen him and called it definitely concerning, and Al Horford said he had not been able to reach him either. It is a familiar pattern for a player who battled a prolonged illness in Boston, later revealed a POTS diagnosis, and played just 15 games after Golden State acquired him for Jonathan Kuminga at the 2026 deadline. The Warriors still re-signed him for two years and $40 million this summer, and Horford takes the starting center job until there is clarity.

Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets

VanVleet is the good-news story on this list. He tore his ACL and meniscus in an unofficial team workout in the Bahamas in September 2025 and missed all of 2025-26, but Ime Udoka said on Sept. 22 that he looks good and is doing full-contact five-on-five work. The only restriction is that he will skip back-to-backs early in the season. Houston went 52-30 without him behind Kevin Durant, with Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard sharing ball-handling, and the additions of Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic give Udoka cover on rest nights. VanVleet opted into his $25 million player option in June and has said openly that he believes this team can win a title.

Jordan Miller, LA Clippers

Miller worked his way from a two-way deal to a standard contract and broke out last season, averaging 10 points and shooting 34.5% from three, which earned him a three-year, $15.3 million deal in July. Weeks later he tore his left rotator cuff in an offseason workout and had surgery in late August, with a re-evaluation set for six months out, so March is the earliest he could return. Only the first year of his new deal is guaranteed, which adds pressure to the rehab. His absence costs the Clippers a reliable two-way wing and opens minutes for Kobe Sanders, while making Bradley Beal's knee and Max Strus's foot that much more important.

Brandon Ingram, LA Clippers

Ingram arrived from Toronto in September as the centerpiece of the Kawhi Leonard trade, coming off an All-Star season of 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 77 games. At media day, interim basketball operations chief Trent Redden revealed that doctors had found and repaired a partial Achilles tear during Ingram's May heel surgery, so he will miss the start of the season and be re-evaluated once it begins. Redden noted a partial tear typically heals about six months faster than a full rupture, and Ingram called his recovery week by week. Until he returns, No. 5 pick Keaton Wagler carries much of the wing scoring, and with Miller, Beal, Strus and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also hurt, the Clippers are tied with the Lakers for the most names on the West's injury report (six).

Walker Kessler, LA Lakers

Kessler is the Lakers' biggest offseason bet: they sent Utah two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps in a sign-and-trade, then gave him four years and $130 million to be Luka Doncic's lob threat and rim protector. He jammed his finger on the backboard in camp and has missed the first three preseason games, but JJ Redick has called it not concerning and expects him to play before the opener against Golden State. The caution makes sense after a torn labrum limited him to five games last season, when he was averaging 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. The finger is low risk for opening night; the real question is whether his shoulder holds up over 82 games.

Around the West

The rest of the report has three more season-altering absences: Minnesota's Donte DiVincenzo (Achilles tear, February to April), Phoenix's Mark Williams (torn labrum, February) and Portland's Shaedon Sharpe (meniscus, re-evaluation in late February). Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren (quad) is the name to watch among the defending powers.

Timelines are the earliest reported return dates and always subject to change.

The Return Calendar

The West's early standings will shift as these players come back. Here is when the reinforcements are due, based on the earliest reported timelines:

• Late October: Isaiah Stewart (Oct. 23) and Maxime Raynaud (Oct. 25)

• November: Brandon Ingram (re-evaluation), Max Strus, Yanic Konan Niederhauser and Jusuf Nurkic

• December: Moses Moody and Jayden Quaintance

• January to February: Jimmy Butler

• February: Mark Williams, Shaedon Sharpe (re-evaluation) and the start of Donte DiVincenzo's window

• March: Jordan Miller (re-evaluation)

• No timeline: Kristaps Porzingis