The more things change, the more they stay the same.
As was the case in last year's annual survey, the NBA's general managers feel only two teams have a shot at hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy this season: The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Warriors raked in 93 percent of the total votes, which is the largest number any team has garnered in the 16-year history of the survey. The Cavaliers received the remaining seven percent.
In the race for the 2017-18 Most Valuable Player award, GMs are once again showing love to LeBron James, predicting he'll take home the hardware for the fifth time, and first since 2013.
Player | Team | Percent of votes |
---|---|---|
LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 50 |
Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors | 29 |
Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | 11 |
James Harden | Houston Rockets | 7 |
Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 4 |
The choices for the best player at each position are also nearly the same across the board, with the only difference being Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves as the league's best center over last year's top vote-getter DeAndre Jordan.
Position | Winner | Team | Percent of votes | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
PG | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | 62 | Russell Westbrook |
SG | James Harden | Houston Rockets | 83 | Klay Thompson |
SF | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 61 | Kevin Durant |
PF | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans | 41 | LeBron James |
C | Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves | 28 | Anthony Davis |