Over the last couple of years, the NBA has fallen into a deep imbalance and some would say unfairness in the power of stars in the Eastern and Western Conference. In fact, in the last 13 seasons, 10 out of the 13 seasons, Western Conference has won the championship against Eastern.Recently with the trade of James Harden entering the Clippers, the Eastern conference just lost another star to the Western conference further digging the hole deeper. There are around a handful of stars in the eastern conference like Giannis Antentokoumpo, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum whereas in the Western Conference there are a lot more stars like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Lebron James, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and now James Harden.
Off the top of my head I was able to list a lot more stars in the Western than the Eastern further supporting that there is a growing imbalance between conferences. The high-profile move of James Harden to the Clippers, amplified the divide between the conferences.
James Harden Enters the Western Conference
In a significant and unexpected trade, James Harden, a 10 time all star and a cornerstone player, moved from the Philadelphia 76ers in the East to join the Los Angeles Clippers in the West. This trade sent people throughout the league in disbelief, not only altering the dynamics of the Western Conference but also emphasizing the disparity between the talent concentrations in both conferences.
The Western Conference:
The Western Conference boasts a deeper roster of superstar talent. Before the acquisition of James Harden, the West already showcased stars such as LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.
The recent trade of James Harden to the Clippers intensifies the pre-existing imbalance of talent between the Eastern and Western Conferences in the NBA. The imbalance in power is not solely about individual star power but also the overall competitive landscape. The Western Conference appears to possess a more formidable depth of talent, making the path to the NBA Finals a steeper climb for teams in the West.
The Eastern Conference:
Now, for the Eastern conference, although there are some stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum this is a very short list compared to the almost never ending list of stars from the Western Conference.
In the NBA currently, looking at the current standings there seems to be a lot more competition to get into the playoff spots in the Western Conference than the Eastern. There are considerably good teams like the Lakers and Clippers who are currently not in the playoff spots because of the stars in the other teams.
