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Victor Petkov
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NBA GM survey bets on Thunder to win back-to-back title, Jokic favorite for MVP
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Oklahoma received 80% of the vote, leaving Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets way behind them

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been chosen by an overwhelming majority of NBA general managers to defend their title this season, according to the annual NBA.com GM Survey.

80% of league executives selected the Thunder to win the 2025–26 NBA championship, making them the clear favorites to repeat. If they succeed, Oklahoma City would become the first team since the Golden State Warriors in 2018 to win back-to-back titles.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets each received a few votes, while the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks were the only other teams to receive any first-place selections.

The survey, distributed to all 30 front offices, prohibits teams from voting for themselves or their own players, meaning no option can ever receive more than 97% of the vote in any category.

Thunder and Cavaliers emerged as runaway favorites in their conference. Oklahoma City topped 87% of Western Conference ballots, finishing second on the remaining 10%, with the Nuggets taking 10% of first-place votes and the Rockets receiving one. They were followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Warriors, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and San Antonio Spurs.

In the East, Cleveland and New York were unanimous top-three picks. The Cavaliers received 63% of the first-place votes, 27% for second, and 7% for third, while the Knicks earned 30%, 53%, and 13% in those categories, respectively.

On the individual side, Nikola Jokic was the favorite to win the 2026 MVP Award, receiving 67% of the votes. Meanwhile, Victor Wembanyama was again the top choice for the second consecutive year as the player GMs would most want to start a franchise with, getting 83% of the vote in that category.