Celtics Favored To Repeat As NBA Champs; Luka Doncic Leads Player Categories in General Manager Survey

On Tuesday, the NBA conducted its annual general manager survey and executives have an overwhelming preference when it comes to who will lift Larry O’Brien Trophy this summer: an overwhelming 83% believe Boston Celtics will repeat as NBA Finals champs this time around. In 2019, the Boston Celtics defeated Dallas Mavericks 4-1 to capture 18 championships for themselves and mark Oklahoma City Thunder with 13% while Dallas Mavericks earned only 3% in this poll. Last season, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets split votes evenly at 33% each to lead our survey. However, Celtics remain favorites to claim victory in Eastern Conference; having received 97% of those votes against just 53% last time out. New York Knicks finished second overall in voting, just behind Philadelphia 76ers; Oklahoma City Thunder won in their division and took first overall. Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Mavericks all finished within striking distance. Additionally, Boston will officially kickoff their regular season against Knicks on October 22. No league champion has repeated since the Golden State Warriors won back-to-back championships from 2017 and 2018.Luka Doncic Leads Individual VotingThough he didn’t garner 40% of MVP vote this season, Mavericks star Luka Doncic did dominate individual voting categories of this survey. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned this year’s MVP honors. Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game while finishing second in the MVP race behind Nikola Jokic. Doncic finished in second with 30% support – earning double-digit votes across his season of competition. Joel Embiid, Jokic and Jayson Tatum tied for third with 7 % each, earning Doncic votes as point guard, shooting guard and small forward respectively. He received 37% of the vote as point guard in the league and finished fifth overall among shooting guards – as well as in a tie for second in small forward voting. Anthony Edwards won at 33% and Tatum came in first, both selected at 47% respectively. Doncic averaged 33.9 points per game last season to lead Dallas back into the Finals for the first time since Dirk Nowitzki took control. As well as this impressive feat, Jokic fell just short of averaging a triple-double with 9.8 assists and 9.2 rebounds per game. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected by 77% of voters as best power forward while Jokic earned 87% votes as best center. General managers agreed the Thunder made the greatest offseason moves this summer ahead of teams such as Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia was recognized by fans this past offseason for landing Paul George, which was selected overwhelmingly as being of greatest impact this season. Furthermore, Karl-Anthony Towns’s trade to New York Knicks was chosen by fans as being most surprising move during this offseason period. Memphis Grizzlies won 67% of votes cast for “most improved team”, too. Grizzlies teammate Ja Morant struggled to perform at his usual level last season and the club finished 27-55 overall. Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard has been chosen as most likely to win Rookie of the Year honors and become best player among current rookies over five years. Houston selected Sheppard with pick No. 18 overall from Kentucky College this past April draft class. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 assists per game at Kentucky last season before joining Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra as head coach, receiving multiple votes as best in each category for coaching excellence in multiple polls conducted throughout the league. Mike Budenholzer was selected first among new or relocated head coaches across the league. On Oct 22nd, NBA season will officially commence with two doubleheader matches between Knicks vs Celtics and Lakers Vs Timberwolves.