Oklahoma City Thunder, favorites to repeat the title according to NBA survey
An annual survey conducted by the NBA to the offices of the 30 teams in the league has revealed that the Oklahoma City Thunder are the favorites to defend their title. The survey, which collects the opinion of the NBA general managers, places the Thunder as the team to beat.
With a resounding 80% of the votes, the Thunder are emerging as the main candidates to win for the second consecutive year. If they achieve this goal, it would be the first time since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2018 that a team repeats as champion.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets also received some votes, while the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks got a single selection.
The survey, which is sent to the 30 teams and prohibits teams from voting for themselves or players on their own rosters, also points to Oklahoma City and Cleveland as the favorites in their respective conferences. The Thunder obtained 87% of the votes for first place and 10% for second. The Nuggets received 10% of the votes for first place and the Rockets only one.
In the Western Conference, the teams following the Thunder are, in order: Minnesota Timberwolves, Warriors, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs.
In the Eastern Conference, Cleveland and New York were unanimously selected to finish in the top three. The Cavaliers received 63% of the votes for first place, 27% for second, and 7% for third. The Knicks, for their part, received 30%, 53%, and 13%, respectively.
The only other team that received votes for first place was the Orlando Magic, with 7%. The Magic was also chosen to finish third, followed by the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics.
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets star, was chosen to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award with 67% of the votes. For his part, Victor Wembanyama, from the Spurs, received 83% of the votes as the player that general managers would choose to start a franchise, winning this category for the second consecutive year.
Amen Thompson of the Rockets received 30% of the votes in the “greatest potential for a breakout season” category, which aligns with his position as the favorite for the Most Improved Player award.
As for the best players by position, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jokic were chosen. The only position that did not reach 70% of the votes was the forward position, where Doncic obtained 40%, followed by Jayson Tatum (20%), Kevin Durant (17%), LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard (7% each).
In the offseason superlatives section, the Hawks (53%) were the best choice, followed by the Rockets (27%) and the Nuggets (10%). The Rockets, with the signing of Kevin Durant, were chosen as the offseason move with the greatest impact, while the Magic were chosen as the team with the most progression (47%) and for making the most underrated move by signing Desmond Bane.
The Thunder (83%) were ranked as the best defensive team in the league.
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks rookie, was the big favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award and be the best rookie of this class in five years, while Kasparas Jakucionis, of the Miami Heat, was chosen as the biggest draft bargain of this year.
In the individual superlatives section, Wembanyama (80%) was chosen as the best defensive player in the league; Erik Spoelstra (52%) was chosen as the best coach for the sixth consecutive season; Jokic (80%) was chosen as the best passer and the player with the greatest court intelligence, while Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama tied, with 30% of the votes each, in the category of most versatile player in the league, and Stephen Curry was the winner, with 47% of the votes, as the player you would choose to take the decisive shot.
