2024-25 NBA General Manager Survey Predicts Reign of Boston as Champions; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander MVP Award is expected.

NBA general managers predict the Boston Celtics will repeat as champions and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win his inaugural MVP award, according to an annual survey compiled by NBA.com’s John Schuhmann. These predictions appear safe. Be careful using it as an accurate forecasting source – many general managers make incorrect assessments more often than expected! But this poll can still give an insightful picture of general knowledge around the league and showcase a few highlights – for instance: * Boston Celtics are predicted to win another championship! * New Orleans Pelicans won’t even reach playoffs this season Boston won last season, returning its core seven players; no surprise then that Boston earned 83% of General Manager votes to repeat as champions; Oklahoma City Thunder got 13% and Dallas Mavericks just 3%; no General Manager would back Knicks or 76ers over them as possible contenders to beat Boston this time around. * Celtics to earn first seed in East. After dominating most teams during last season’s regular season schedule, Boston appears poised to do it once more (even without Kristaps Porzingins until around Christmas). Predicted top six in East (from top down): Celtics, Knicks, 76ers, Cavaliers, Bucks and Magic Oklahoma City Thunder Secure First Seed in West. Oklahoma City’s surprising first place finish last season and subsequent improvement through acquisition of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein made this choice no surprise at all. Thunder, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Mavericks, Suns and Grizzlies have been selected as the predicted top six in the West (in order). *Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will win MVP honors this season. SGA finished second in last year’s voting and will likely lead a Thunder team from out West – making him an obvious candidate to receive this honor. Luka Doncic placed second, followed by Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum who tied for third. As is usually the case when voting is done at General Manager level (Nikola Jokic was chosen last season as well), these outcomes tend to be accurate predictions of future success for their players. * Victor Wembanyama player was chosen as the player that most General Managers (GMs) would sign if starting an NBA franchise today, per our survey of General Managers (GMs). While that seems like no surprise at first, what surprised many was that 33% voted against him instead and went towards Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic who each received 10% to tie for second. * Luka Doncic is the player responsible for forcing coaches to make the greatest number of adjustments in his coaching strategy. This makes for an amazing list of players who don’t fit easily within NBA conventions and who require coaches to make adjustments; one such player would be 6’8″ pick-and-roll wizard who exhibits outstanding passing skills as well as scoring at every level – such players will force coaches into change and will stand out among their competition in terms of performance and personality. Voting was close: Doncic received 33%, Stephen Curry 30% and Nikola Jokic 23% of votes cast, leaving no clear coaching adjustment to prevent their dominance from continuing. * Oklahoma City enjoyed the best offseason. Though most fans favored Philadelphia in this vote, league general managers applauded Oklahoma City Thunder GMs’ two subtle but impactful acquisitions of Caruso and Hartenstein — two players that fill specific needs on this roster – Caruso placed second overall while Hartenstein placed third; Philly finished as runners-up among GMs voting while Knicks came in third overall. * Karl-Anthony Towns’s move from Minnesota to the Knicks was one of the more unexpected moves this offseason; even Towns himself expressed surprise upon hearing this news; therefore it shouldn’t come as any shock when GMS chose him to receive this vote as their nominee for this category. Paul George to Philadelphia ranked second for potential impact, DeMar DeRozan to Sacramento Kings third and Mikal Bridges to Knicks fourth – these three moves making an impressionful statement about future roster decisions by their teams. * Rockets Reed Sheppard to receive Rookie of the Year honors Reed Sheppard won the General Manager vote with Zach Edey of Memphis finishing as second (he’ll start and receive more run than most rookies), followed by Stephon Castle from Spurs at third. Sheppard won the vote as to who from this class will become the best five years later, followed by Castle. * Victor Wembanyama named best defensive player in NBA. Wembanyama may only be entering his second season but has made such a mark defensively that he already garners votes and is considered a favorite to be named Defensive Player of the Year by general managers (GMs). They did select Boston guard Jrue Holiday as best perimeter defender. Giannis Antetokounmpo was honored by General Managers as most versatile defender in the league, while Erik Spoelstra received 69% of votes as best coach this season and also recognized by them for motivating people effectively. * Erik Spoelstra earned 69% vote this year to become best coach; an annual tradition. This time around Spoelstra also was selected best motivator of people by General Managers. *Mark Daigneault from the Thunder placed second overall among coaches on this year’s list with Steve Kerr claiming third.*The Indiana Pacers won over fans by being one of the most enjoyable teams to watch; uptempo basketball offers endless entertainment. Thunder came second on that list, tied for third with Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets; Los Angeles Lakers were named the hardest team to predict. The Lakers boast two of Team USA’s four best players from its gold medal-winning squad at Paris Olympics; however, there’s a significant drop-off among their other players and no depth and many health questions remain regarding them. The Lakers had yet to figure out their fate: either making the top six and bypassing play-in or missing it altogether was in doubt; next on this list were Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans in a two-way tie for second, with Phoenix Suns fourth on this list.