NBA GMs Think Celtics Will Repeat As Champs

Last 8 October, the National Basketball Association (NBA) released its annual general manager survey, and executives have a very clear idea on who they think will be lifting the Larry O’Brien Trophy this summer.

An overwhelming 83 percent of respondents think that the Boston Celtics will repeat and win the NBA Finals this season. The Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 4-1 in the Finals earlier this year, which marked the franchise’s 18th championship. The Oklahoma City Thunder earned 13 percent of the vote in the survey, and the Mavericks earned 3 percent. By comparison, the Celtics and the Denver Nuggets split the vote last season at 33 percent each to lead the survey.

As expected, the Celtics are favored to win the Eastern Conference, too. They earned 97 percent of the votes there, compared to just 53 percent last season. The New York Knicks finished in second in the voting, slightly ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers. In the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder were voted to finish first. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Mavericks were close behind in that order.

The Celtics will officially open their regular season against the Knicks on 22 October. The league hasn’t seen a repeat champion since the Golden State Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.

In individual honors, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was narrowly picked to win the Most Valuable Player award over Mavericks guard Luka Doncic -- Gilgeous-Alexander received 40 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for Doncic -- with Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum finishing in a distant tie for third.

Meanwhile, French phenom Victor Wembanyama received 77 percent of the vote for the choice for who a team would start their franchise with -- the first time he's received the honor.