Thunder, Favorites to Repeat the Title According to NBA Survey
The annual NBA.com survey, conducted among the offices of the league’s 30 teams, places the Oklahoma City Thunder as the team to beat next season. The Thunder are the favorites to defend their title.As in a previous poll, the Thunder stand out as the main candidates to win the championship. An impressive 80% of NBA general managers selected OKC to achieve a second consecutive victory. If the Thunder achieve this milestone, 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 each got a selection. The survey also predicts the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers as the favorites to lead their respective conferences. The Thunder received 87% of the votes for first place, with the Nuggets and Rockets each receiving one vote. Other teams mentioned in the survey include the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs. In the Eastern Conference, Cleveland and New York were selected to finish in the top three. The Cavaliers obtained 63% of the votes for first place, while the Knicks received 30%. The Orlando Magic were the only other team to receive votes for first place. 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 choice to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award with 67% of the votes. Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs was selected as the player 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 “most improved” category, which aligns with his position as the favorite for the Most Improved Player award. Regarding the positions, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jokic were chosen as the best players in their respective positions. The only position with less than 70% of the votes was the forward position, where Doncic received 40% of the votes. In the offseason superlatives section, the Hawks were the top pick for having the best offseason, followed by the Rockets and the Nuggets. The Rockets’ trade for Kevin Durant was selected as the most impactful offseason move. The Magic were chosen as the most improved team and for making the most underrated move by acquiring Desmond Bane. The Thunder were selected 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 in five years. Kasparas Jakucionis, of the Miami Heat, was chosen as the biggest bargain in this year’s draft. In the individual superlatives section, Wembanyama was chosen as the league’s best defensive player. Erik Spoelstra was selected as the best coach for the sixth consecutive season. Jokic was chosen as the best passer and player with the highest basketball IQ. Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama tied as the league’s most versatile player, and Stephen Curry was the preferred player to take a shot with the game on the line.
