Thunder, Favorites to Repeat in the NBA According to General Managers Survey
The annual NBA.com survey, conducted among the league’s 30 front offices, has designated the Oklahoma City Thunder as the favorites to defend their title next season.
As in last month’s preseason poll, the Thunder were the clear favorites to win the championship. 80% of NBA general managers selected OKC to win for the second consecutive year. If they succeed, it would be the first time since the Golden State Warriors repeated in 2018.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets received some votes, while the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks each got a selection.
The annual survey, which is sent to all 30 teams and does not allow teams to select themselves or any player from their own rosters, also projected Oklahoma City and Cleveland as the leading candidates to win their respective conferences.
In addition to the Thunder, who were the first choice in 87% of the votes and the second in the remaining 10%, the Nuggets received 10% of the first-place votes and the Rockets got one vote.
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Warriors
- LA Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Dallas Mavericks
- San Antonio Spurs
In the Eastern Conference, Cleveland and New York were unanimously selected to finish in the top three, with the Cavaliers receiving 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 were also chosen to finish third overall, followed by the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Boston Celtics.
Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets was the clear choice to win this year’s top individual honor, earning 67% of the votes, while Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs received 83% of the votes as the player general managers would choose if they had the opportunity to select someone to start a franchise, making him the winner in that category for the second consecutive season.
Amen Thompson of the Rockets received 30% of the votes in the “most likely to have a breakout season” category.
There was little debate about who is the best player at each position, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jokic claiming the honor in each position. The only one of the five positions that received less than 70% of the votes for the best selection was forward, where Doncic received 40%, followed by Jayson Tatum (20), Kevin Durant (17), LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard (7 each), with Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler, and Jalen Williams receiving one vote each.
In the offseason superlatives section, the Hawks (53%) were the best option to have the best offseason, followed by the Rockets (27%) and the Nuggets (10%).
The Rockets’ trade of Kevin Durant was chosen as the offseason move that will have the biggest impact, while the Magic were chosen as the most improved team this season (47%) and for making the most underrated move by trading for point guard Desmond Bane, and the Thunder (83%) were named the best defensive team in the league.
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks rookie, was the heavy favorite to win both the Rookie of the Year award and to be the best rookie in this class in five years, while Kasparas Jakucionis, Miami Heat point guard, was the pick to be the biggest steal in this year’s draft class.
In the individual superlatives section, Wembanyama (80%) was chosen as the best defensive player in the league; Erik Spoelstra (52%) was chosen as his best coach for the sixth consecutive season; Jokic (80%) was chosen as the best passer in the NBA and player with the highest IQ in basketball, while Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama tied, with 30% of the votes each, for the honor of being the most versatile player in the league, and Stephen Curry was the winner, with 47% of the votes, for being the player you would like to take a shot with the game on the line.
