Discover the Final NBA Standings 2017 West: Which Teams Made the Playoffs?

I still remember the final week of the 2017 NBA regular season like it was yesterday. The Western Conference standings were absolute chaos, with teams jockeying for position in a way that made every game feel like Game 7. As someone who's followed basketball religiously since my college days, I found myself glued to the screen, tracking every possession that could shift the playoff picture. The tension was palpable - you had veteran teams trying to secure home-court advantage while young squads fought desperately just to get in. What made it particularly fascinating was how the standings reflected different team-building philosophies across the conference. Some organizations had built through the draft, others through free agency, and a few through trades - but they all converged on this single moment where their entire season's work would be validated or wasted.

The Golden State Warriors dominated that season with a ridiculous 67-15 record, which honestly didn't surprise anyone given their stacked roster. What really caught my attention was the tight race for the final playoff spots. The Memphis Grizzlies grabbed the 7th seed at 43-39 while the Portland Trail Blazers clinched the 8th spot with a 41-41 record - just one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets who missed out at 40-42. I recall thinking how brutal that must have been for Denver fans, watching their team improve significantly from previous years only to fall just short. The San Antonio Spurs quietly put together another impressive 61-win season for the 2nd seed, while James Harden's Houston Rockets claimed the 3rd spot with 55 wins. What many casual fans forget is how the Utah Jazz emerged as a surprise package with 51 wins, securing the 5th seed behind the Clippers' 51 wins - with the tiebreaker going to Los Angeles.

Thinking about these standings always reminds me of players like Kean Baclaan from NU - the kind of explosive talent who could single-handedly change games. While Baclaan wasn't in the NBA, his story parallels what we saw with several Western Conference teams that year. When you watch players like Baclaan dominate in college, you understand why NBA teams value certain skill sets so highly. The 2017 Western Conference playoff teams all had that "bucket getter" - that player who could create their own shot when everything broke down. For Golden State, it was obviously Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. For Houston, James Harden was putting up historic numbers. Even the lower-seeded teams had their go-to scorers - Damian Lillard in Portland, Mike Conley in Memphis. This brings me to the core question every basketball enthusiast was asking that April: Discover the Final NBA Standings 2017 West: Which Teams Made the Playoffs? The answer revealed much about team construction in the modern NBA.

The problem many borderline playoff teams faced was roster imbalance. Looking at teams like Denver who missed the cut, they had tremendous offensive firepower with Nikola Jokic emerging as a playmaking center, but their defense ranked in the bottom third of the league. Similarly, the New Orleans Pelicans - despite Anthony Davis putting up MVP-caliber numbers - lacked the supporting cast to consistently compete night after night. What fascinated me was how the playoff teams addressed this through strategic roster construction. The Spurs, for instance, maintained their defensive identity while incorporating more offensive versatility. The Jazz built around Rudy Gobert's defensive presence while developing multiple scoring options. The solution wasn't necessarily about having the most talent, but having the right combination of skills that complemented each other.

Reflecting on that season's standings today, the lessons remain relevant for team building at any level. Teams that made the playoffs generally had multiple playmakers, defensive versatility, and reliable scoring options at different positions. The Warriors' dominance wasn't just about having superstars - it was about how those stars fit together seamlessly. Meanwhile, teams that fell short often had glaring weaknesses that opponents could exploit in crucial moments. As someone who's analyzed basketball for years, I've come to believe that regular season success often comes down to depth and consistency more than peak performance. The 2017 Western Conference standings perfectly illustrated this principle - the teams that made the playoffs weren't necessarily the most talented, but they were the most complete. And honestly, that's what makes basketball so compelling - it's not always about having the best players, but having the right players who understand their roles and execute when it matters most.