For the first time since the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty, there will be a repeat champion in the NBA … at least, that’s what team general managers believe. The annual NBA GM survey was released Thursday, and a whopping 80% of those surveyed believe the Oklahoma City Thunder will repeat as champions.
While that’s a staggering number, it shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise. The Thunder boast an impressive young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. In fact, NBA GMs rate that core as the best in the league, with the team also earning a victory in that survey question. The Thunder received 50% of the vote there, with the San Antonio Spurs finishing second.
With Holmgren and Williams signed to long-term deals this offseason, the Thunder should be a similar threat to win it all next season. Getting 80% of NBA GMs to agree on that topic might come as a shock, but that’s typically how the survey goes. The Boston Celtics — who were coming off a championship during the 2023-24 NBA season — managed to gain 83% of the vote when GMs were asked who would win the championship ahead of last season. Those GMs were wrong, though the Celtics were once again a tough contender.
If the Thunder aren’t going to win it all, NBA GMs see four other teams as possible candidates to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy. Both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Denver Nuggets each received 7% of the vote. The Houston Rockets and New York Knicks also received at least one vote among GMs.
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Nikola Jokić honored by NBA GMs in annual survey
At 30, Nuggets star Nikola Jokić might be entering the second half of his career. But NBA GMs don’t expect him to lose a step this season. Jokić dominated the annual survey, finishing first in seven different questions, all of which complimented his skills.
Jokić is the most likely to win the 2025-26 NBA MVP award, the player who forces opponents to make the most adjustments, the best center in the NBA, the best international player in the game, the best passer in the game and the player with the best basketball IQ, per league general managers.
In addition to that, Jokić finished third in the voting for best leader and also received votes for most versatile player and player a GM would want to take a shot with the game on the line.
Despite being 30, Jokić also finished third when GMs were asked what player they would choose if they were building a new franchise from scratch. San Antonio Spurs standout Victor Wembanyama easily won that category, picking up 83% of the votes. But Jokić’s presence in the top 3 proves NBA GMs still think extremely highly of his game.
NBA GMs take aim at Clippers?
NBA GMs chose “roster construction” as the one thing they would change in the league. That was a wide-ranging topic on the survey, which mentioned, “Apron rules too harsh, Add a cap discount for own drafted players, Allow trading partial salaries, Make all minimum contracts the same” as things GMs wanted to change. That option received 26% of the vote.
Lower down the list, however, some GMs may have decided to take a shot at the Los Angeles Clippers. Five percent of GMs listed “Higher penalties for cap circumvention” as the biggest change they would make in the league.
That desire comes amid reports suggesting the Clippers tried to circumvent the NBA salary cap when negotiating a free-agent deal with star Kawhi Leonard ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season. Both the Clippers and Leonard have denied any wrongdoing, though that didn’t stop the NBA from reopening its investigation into the situation.
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