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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
The annual NBA.com survey of all 30 of the league’s general managers has overwhelmingly tapped the Boston Celtics as its pick to repeat as NBA champions.
The survey, conducted at the start of each season and polling all 30 front offices across The Association, saw 83 percent of the vote come in for Boston – which, if it wins the title, would be the first repeat NBA champion since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and ’18.
The only other teams to receive a vote were the Oklahoma City Thunder, who got 13 percent of the vote, and last year’s Western Conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks, who received a single vote.
Elsewhere in the survey, the Celtics were the unanimous favorites to finish atop the Eastern Conference, with every single team in the league picking them to finish first in the East. They were followed by, in order, the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers.
Out West, Oklahoma City – fresh off adding Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso to their group this offseason – were also the big favorites to top the conference, taking home 80 percent of the first place votes. The Thunder were followed by, in order, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors.
In individual honors, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was narrowly picked to win this year’s Most Valuable Player award over Mavericks guard Luka Doncic – Gilgeous-Alexander received 40 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for Doncic – with Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum finishing in a distant tie for third.
Meanwhile, French phenom Victor Wembanyama received 77 percent of the vote for the choice of who a team would start their franchise with – the first time he’s received the honor, and quite possibly the first of many years in a row for him doing so.
At each individual position, Stephen Curry was dethroned as the league’s best point guard for the first time in a decade, with Doncic becoming the first player besides Curry to receive that distinction since Chris Paul in 2014-15. At shooting guard, Anthony Edwards unseated Devin Booker, who held that distinction for the past two seasons, while Tatum was selected as the best small forward for a second straight season, and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jokic were picked as the best power forward and center, respectively, for a sixth straight year.
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, meanwhile, was named the league’s best coach for a fifth straight season.
The acquisitions of Hartenstein and Caruso gave Oklahoma City a narrow victory over the 76ers in terms of who had the best offseason in the league (37 percent for OKC, 33 percent for Philadelphia), while Paul George’s signing with the 76ers was the runaway winner for which newly acquired player will have the biggest impact. Caruso, meanwhile, was the most underrated player acquisition, getting 23 percent of the vote, ahead of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope going to Orlando and Hartenstein going to the Thunder.
The Grizzlies were picked to be the most improved team in the league, getting 67 percent of the vote, while the Knicks trading for Karl-Anthony Towns on the eve of training camp was deemed to be the most surprising move of the summer, edging out George going to Philadelphia for that honor.
Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was picked as the GM’s choice for Rookie of the Year, as well as the best player in five years from this year’s rookie class.
Wembanyama, meanwhile, was the runaway pick for the league’s best defensive player, as well as its best interior defender, while Celtics guard Jrue Holiday was picked as the best perimeter defender and Antetokounmpo was tapped as the most versatile. The Celtics were also picked as the league’s best defensive team, ahead of the Timberwolves and Thunder.
Across the individual superlative categories, Anthony Edwards supplanted Ja Morant as the league’s most athletic player; Curry was named its best shooter, an honor he’s held since the 2013-14 season; Jokic was named the league’s best passer for a third straight season; and Curry was picked for the seventh time – and third in a row – as the player you’d most like to have take a shot with the game on the line.