Thunder, the team to beat according to NBA executives
The annual NBA.com survey, conducted with the league’s 30 front offices, points to the Oklahoma City Thunder as the team to defend the title next season.
As in the offseason survey, the Thunder are the clear favorites to win the championship, with 80% of NBA general managers selecting them to achieve it for the second consecutive year. If they succeed, it would be the first time since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2018.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets received some votes, while the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks each got one selection.
In the survey, which is sent to the 30 teams and does not allow teams to vote for themselves or players from their own teams, it is also predicted that Oklahoma City and Cleveland will be the favorites to win their respective conferences.
In addition to the Thunder, who were the first choice in 87% of the ballots and the second in the remaining 10%, the Nuggets received 10% of the first-place votes and the Rockets, a single vote.
They were followed, in order, by the 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, 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.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who has finished first or second in the last five MVP votes, was the clear choice to win this year’s top individual honor, claiming 67% of the votes. Meanwhile, Spurs’ young prospect Victor Wembanyama received 83% of the votes as the player general managers would choose if they had the opportunity to select anyone 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, which aligns with his position as the current betting favorite to be this season’s Most Improved Player.
There wasn’t much 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 at each position. The only one of the five positions that received less than 70% of the votes for the main selection was the forward position, 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 a single vote each.
In the offseason superlatives section, the Hawks (53%) were the best choice for having the best offseason, followed by the Rockets (27%) and the Nuggets (10%). The Rockets, by signing Kevin Durant, were 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 signing guard Desmond Bane and the Thunder (83%) were selected as the best defensive team in the league.
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks rookie, the number 1 pick in the June NBA draft, was the big favorite to win both Rookie of the Year and be the best rookie of this class in five years, while Miami Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis 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 its best coach for the sixth consecutive season; Jokic (80%) was chosen as the best passer in the NBA and the 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 who would be given the shot with the game on the line.
