Based upon what? Please lay out your reasoning, as I’m genuinely interested in reading it.
You kinda sorta just admitted the West is more stacked on talent.
As I stated previously, most the elite talent is in the West. Which should lead anyone to conclude the better teams are in the West.
You can’t judge by record, as Eastern teams play far more games against their own conference and vice versa. And you can’t fairly judge solely off the 2 game litmus test both conferences play against each other, with factors such as longer distance travel and playing teams in the midst of a 5, 6, or 7 game roadie.
In terms of what I believe most would consider “elite talent”, the East has Giannis, Embiid, Tatum, and Donovan Mitchell.
Meanwhile, the West boasts: Jokic, Dame, Steph, Klay, Kawhi, LBJ, AD, KD, Booker, #77, Kyrie, and Ja.
It’s really not even close.
Without getting into the debate on which conference is more stacked, I think we need to redefine the term "better", in terms of talent in the West.
Certainly, more recognizable top level talent is in the West. Guys who have been dominating the league for years, have won multiple championships, MVPs, and are first ballot HOFers; the West is certainly lot more stacked with these guys.
OTOH, many of these guys have missed a ton of games, which has impacted their teams' standing. That too is a function of age (to some extent at least, though obviously it varies from player to player). In another thread, we had another controversial debate on "availability being the best ability". Again, don't want to get into that, but availability is certainly a factor.
Some time back I had said that the league had seen a huge talent infusion since the early 2000s, but last few years have been relatively underwhelming. Bron, Durant, Irving, Curry, Dame, George, Kawahi etc. continue to remain some of the top stars. The last 4 MVPs have been won by guys drafted in 2013 (Giannis, MVP in 19, 20) and 2014, (Jokic, in 21, 22, and likely 23). One of their major competitors has been Embiid, also drafted in 2014.
The only guys since who have had a reasonable chance since are Luka, and to a lesser extent, Tatum. There have been some good players (including our 2 all-stars) since, but not many who have owned the league, at least not yet.
There is still time, particularly for the more recent draft classes. Ultimately, someone will fill the vacuum that will be created at the top as guys retire/play fewer games due to injuries. Teams like Lakers, Suns, Wolves, and Mavs have mortgaged a lot of their future for a shot at the title, and as they slip (hopefully), other players and teams will replace them. It's already happening. Apart from injuries, we are also seeing decline of some stars like Paul and Klay.
I personally believe the gap is minimal. West loses in age and injuries, what it gains in big name recognition (and guys who can still take over games on their own). Unless it can prove otherwise, West can't dismiss games lost due to injuries as a freak coincidence, particularly if it continues to happen to older stars.