Kurt Helin Thu, October 15, 2026 at 5:43 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's not just you — or the team at NBC Sports making predictions on MVP and the championship race — who think this is the San Antonio Spurs year, a lot of NBA general managers do too.
NBA.com and John Schuhmann released the annual GM survey on Thursday and San Antonio — as well as Victor Wembanyama — get a lot of love. There are some other interesting findings as well. Among the results.
Who will win the NBA Championship? • San Antonio Spurs 50% • Oklahoma City Thunder 43% The Knicks and 76ers each got one vote each.
Who will be named the 2026-27 MVP? • Victor Wembanyama 77% • Nikola Jokic 10% • Anthony Edwards 7%
Who is the best defensive player in the NBA? • Victor Wembanyama 97% The one vote for someone else (Ausar Thompson) had to come from the Spurs, since they cannot vote for their own player,
Which player forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments? • Victor Wembanyama 47% • Nikola Jokic 33% • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7%
Who will win Rookie of the Year? • Cameron Boozer 50% • Caleb Wilson 20% • AJ Dybantsa 17% • Darryn Peterson 13% It's worth noting that when asked who will be the best player from this class five years from now, Dybantsa and Wilson each tied with 33%.
Who is the best coach in the NBA? • Erik Spoelstra (Miami) 43% • Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City) 37% • Mike Brown (New York) 10%
Which player is the most athletic? • Amen Thompson 63% • Anthony Edwards 20% • Ausar Thompson 10% Amen and Ausar Thompson are twins.
Which player is the best leader? • Jalen Brunson 53% • Stephen Curry 20% • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7%
Which team will be the most improved? • Indiana Pacers 43% • Washington Wizards 23% • Utah Jazz 13%
Which team had the best overall offseason? • Philadelphia 76ers 73% • Miami Heat 10% It's worth noting that two GMs picked Charlotte here, supporting the decision to trade away LaMelo Ball.
What player acquisition will have the biggest impact? • Giannis Antetokounmpo (Miami), 53% • Jaylen Brown (Philadelphia), 20%
What is the most underrated player acquisition? • Tobias Harris (San Antonio) 20% • Mitchell Robinson (Boston) 17% • Naz Reid (Charlotte) 10%
Which player would you want taking the shot with the game on the line? • Stephen Curry 50% • Jalen Brunson 17% • Tie between Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at 10%
While these results are interesting, GMs are often quite wrong. For example, last season 80% predicted the Thunder would repeat as champions, the MVP was going to be Nikola Jokic (67%), the biggest impact acquisition was Kevin Durant (73%), and the most improved was going to be the Orlando Magic (47%).
Source: Sports
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