The NBA released its annual GM survey on Thursday, which polls all 30 general managers across the league to get their takes ahead of the upcoming season. The 25th annual GM survey was heavily represented by the Spurs and superstar big man Victor Wembanyama, as the franchise received the most votes (50%) to win the 2027 NBA title. San Antonio was voted as the favorite to win the title over the Thunder (43% of the votes), with the Knicks and 76ers also receiving votes.
Last season, Oklahoma City was the heavy favorite among NBA general managers (80% of the vote) to win the title. Wembanyama was also voted as the overwhelming favorite (77% of the votes) to capture his first MVP. Nikola Jokić, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Jayson Tatum also received votes to capture the most coveted individual award in the sport.
Also represented in the survey was Spurs second-year guard Dylan Harper, who is considered the heavy favorite to have a breakout season, ahead of the likes of Cooper Flagg, Collin Murray-Boyles, Amen Thompson, and Cason Wallace. Harper primarily came off the bench during his rookie season but was one of the stars of the playoffs. The Spurs have already experimented with throwing Harper in the starting lineup during the preseason alongside fellow guards De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.
Let's dive into some takeaways of what NBA general managers got right (and wrong). It should come as no surprise that general managers picked Wembanyama as the MVP. The Spurs superstar is coming off a season in which he averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 3.1 assists.
Wembanyama was voted as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year last season and became the first player in NBA history to win the award unanimously. The next step for Wembanyama is capturing his first MVP award and the cards are set up for him to do so this season. Wembanyama was a very popular name throughout the ballot.
Here are the categories in which Wembanyama finished first or at least received votes from general managers. The hype around the freshmen class in college basketball turned into one of the biggest storylines of the NBA season because of how many teams tanked to secure a top pick in the draft. In the GM survey, Grizzlies forward Cameron Boozer (50% of the vote) was picked to win Rookie of the Year honors.
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