Everything about the NBA’s Northwest Division, including rookies, current standings, and rosters: One of the three divisions in the NBA’s Western Conference, the Northwest Division of NBA is a popular one. The Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Utah Jazz all play in this division. The Northwest Division is by far the most geographically large of the six. The Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Jazz are closer to the Pacific Division, the Thunder are closer to the Southwest Division, and the Timberwolves are closer to the Central Division.
Foundation
The division was made at the start of the 2004–2005 season when the Charlotte Bobcats joined the league and made it up to 30 teams. The league was changed so that each conference now has three divisions. The Nuggets, the Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers, the Seattle SuperSonics, and the Jazz were the first teams in the Northwest Division. The Trail Blazers and SuperSonics came from the Pacific Division. The Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Jazz came from the Midwest Division, which no longer exists.
More about the teams
The Utah Jazz won their fifth division title in the 2021–22 NBA season, making them the most recent team to win a division title. The SuperSonics-Thunder franchise has triumphed in the most number of Northwest Division titles, i.e., six titles. The Nuggets and Jazz each have won five, the Trail Blazers have won two, and the Timberwolves have never won a Northwest Division title. All four teams that made the playoffs in 2009–10 had more than 50 wins, and all four teams that made the playoffs in 2018–19 had at least 49 wins.
The Northwest Division winners would get the Sam Jones Trophy, named after Hall of Famer Sam Jones, starting in 2021–2022.
Standings of 2021-2022
| Northwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
| Utah Jazz | 49 | 33 | 0.598 | 15 | 29–12 | 20–21 | 15–1 | 82 |
| Denver Nuggets | 48 | 34 | 0.585 | 16 | 23–18 | 25–16 | 6–10 | 82 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 46 | 36 | 0.561 | 18 | 26–15 | 20–21 | 12–4 | 82 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 27 | 55 | 0.329 | 37 | 17–24 | 10–31 | 1–15 | 82 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 24 | 58 | 0.293 | 40 | 12–29 | 12–29 | 6–10 | 82 |
Teams
| Team | City | Year | From |
| Joined | |||
| Denver Nuggets | Denver, Colorado | 2004 | Midwest Division |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 2004 | Midwest Division |
| Oklahoma City Thunder (2008–present)Seattle SuperSonics (1967–2008) | Oklahoma City, OklahomaSeattle, Washington | 2004 | Pacific Division |
| Portland Trail Blazers | Portland, Oregon | 2004 | Pacific Division |
| Utah Jazz | Salt Lake City, Utah | 2004 | Midwest Division |
Division champions
| Season | Team | Record | Playoffs result |
| 2004–05 | Seattle SuperSonics | 52–30 (.634) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2005–06 | Denver Nuggets | 44–38 (.537) | Lost First Round |
| 2006–07 | Utah Jazz | 51–31 (.622) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2007–08 | Utah Jazz | 54–28 (.659) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2008–09 | Denver Nuggets | 54–28 (.659) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2009–10 | Denver Nuggets | 53–29 (.646) | Lost First Round |
| 2010–11 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 55–27 (.671) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2011–12 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 47–19 (.712) | Lost NBA Finals |
| 2012–13 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 60–22 (.732) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2013–14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 59–23 (.720) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2014–15 | Portland Trail Blazers | 51–31 (.622) | Lost First Round |
| 2015–16 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 55–27 (.671) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2016–17 | Utah Jazz | 51–31 (.622) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2017–18 | Portland Trail Blazers | 49–33 (.598) | Lost First Round |
| 2018–19 | Denver Nuggets | 54–28 (.659) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2019–20 | Denver Nuggets | 46–27 (.630) | Lost Conference Finals |
| 2020–21 | Utah Jazz | 52–20 (.722) | Lost Conference Semifinals |
| 2021–22 | Utah Jazz | 49–33 (.598) | Lost First Round |
Titles by team
| Team | Titles | Season(s) won |
| Seattle SuperSonics/ Oklahoma City Thunder | 6 | 2004–05, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16 |
| Denver Nuggets | 5 | 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2018–19, 2019–20 |
| Utah Jazz | 5 | 2006–07, 2007–08, 2016–17, 2020–21, 2021–22 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 2 | 2014–15, 2017–18 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 0 | – |
Seasonwise results
| Season | Team (record) | ||||
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | |
| 2004: Five teams joined the Northwest Division at the start. From the Pacific Division, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle SuperSonics joined, and from the Midwest Division, the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Utah Jazz joined. | |||||
| 2004–05 | Seattle (52–30) | Denver (49–33) | Minnesota (44–38) | Portland (27–55) | Utah (26–56) |
| 2005–06 | Denver (44–38) | Utah (41–41) | Seattle (35–47) | Minnesota (33–49) | Portland (21–61) |
| 2006–07 | Utah (51–31) | Denver (45–37) | Portland (32–50) | Minnesota (32–50) | Seattle (31–51) |
| 2007–08 | Utah (54–28) | Denver (50–32) | Portland (41–41) | Minnesota (22–60) | Seattle (20–62) |
| 2008: The Seattle SuperSonics moved and turned into the Oklahoma City Thunder. | |||||
| 2008–09 | Denver (54–28) | Portland (54–28) | Utah (48–34) | Minnesota (24–58) | Oklahoma City (23–59) |
| 2009–10 | Denver (53–29) | Utah (53–29) | Portland (50–32) | Oklahoma City (50–32) | Minnesota (15–67) |
| 2010–11 | Oklahoma City (55–27) | Denver (50–32) | Portland (48–34) | Utah (39–43) | Minnesota (17–65) |
| 2011–12 | Oklahoma City+ (47–19) | Denver (38–28) | Utah (36–30) | Portland (28–38) | Minnesota (26–40) |
| 2012–13 | Oklahoma City (60–22) | Denver (57–25) | Utah (43–39) | Portland (33–49) | Minnesota (31–51) |
| 2013–14 | Oklahoma City (59–23) | Portland (54–28) | Minnesota (40–42) | Denver (36–46) | Utah (25–57) |
| 2014–15 | Portland (51–31) | Oklahoma City (45–37) | Utah (38–44) | Denver (30–52) | Minnesota (16–66) |
| 2015–16 | Oklahoma City (55–27) | Portland (44–38) | Utah (40–42) | Denver (33–49) | Minnesota (29–53) |
| 2016–17 | Utah (51–31) | Oklahoma City (47–35) | Portland (41–41) | Denver (40–42) | Minnesota (31–51) |
| 2017–18 | Portland (49–33) | Oklahoma City (48–34) | Utah (48–34) | Minnesota (47–35) | Denver (46–36) |
| 2018–19 | Denver (54–28) | Portland (53–29) | Utah (50–32) | Oklahoma City (49–33) | Minnesota (36–46) |
| 2019–20 | Denver (46–27) | Oklahoma City (44–28) | Utah (44–28) | Portland (35–39) | Minnesota† (19–45) |
| 2020–21 | Utah (52–20) | Denver (47–25) | Portland (42–30) | Minnesota (23–49) | Oklahoma City (22–50) |
| 2021–22 | Utah (49–33) | Denver (48–34) | Minnesota (46–36) | Portland (27–55) | Oklahoma City (24–58) |
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