NBA GM Survey Takeaways: Celtics Seen as Biggest Threat to Jokic, Nuggets

One of the NBA's yearly traditions is back again.

The league released its 2023-24 general managers survey on Tuesday afternoon. Decision-makers from around the NBA answered 50 questions in an effort to identify where things stand ahead of the regular season tipping off on October 24.

As part of the survey, GMs answer questions on a variety of topics, such as "Who is the best center in the NBA?" According to the league, the GMs were not permitted to vote for their own team or personnel. The percentages provided in the results are based on the pool of respondents to that particular question rather than all 30 general managers. With that being said, which teams do GMs think are best equipped to win the NBA Finals? Is Nikola Jokić seen as the MVP favorite again this year? And where do GMs stand on LeBron James ahead of his 21st season?

Here are five takeaways from the GM survey.

Nuggets, Celtics NBA Finals Favorites

The Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games to win the NBA Finals last season. But going into the 2023-24 season, GMs predict a different Eastern Conference team will be the biggest threat standing in the way of the Nuggets repeating.

Denver and the Boston Celtics are co-favorites to win the Finals this season, according to the survey. Both teams received 33 percent of the vote when GMs were asked to name which team will win the 2023-24 NBA Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks were given the third-most votes (23 percent), while the Phoenix Suns (7 percent) and Los Angeles Clippers (3 percent) rounded out the top five.

The Nuggets were a popular pick for several survey questions.

Denver was named the most fun team to watch (30 percent of the vote), the team that will have the most efficient offense (34 percent), and the franchise with the best home-court advantage (37 percent). And these are among the categories in which Jokić, the reigning Finals MVP, received the highest percentage of votes:

• Who will win the 2023-24 Kia MVP? — (Jokić received 43 percent of the vote)
• Who is the best international player in the NBA? — (Jokić received 80 percent of the vote)
• Which player is the best passer? — (Jokić received 67 percent of the vote)
• Which player has the best basketball IQ? (Jokić received 50 percent of the vote)

Boston won 57 games and finished second in the East last season. The No. 8 seed Heat upset the Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. But a new-look Celtics roster will hope to hang another banner in the Garden. Point guard Jrue Holiday was sent to Boston in the aftermath of the Damian Lillard-Bucks trade. And the Celtics also acquired 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis earlier in the offseason.

The acquisitions of both players received votes by GMs for the offseason move that will make the biggest impact. Lillard being traded to Milwaukee won that category with 47 percent of the vote.

In the previous 21 seasons, the team—or in this case, teams—that GMs predicted to win the Finals did so on only nine occasions.

LeBron James Still Highly Respected

The NBA shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, last week of James, 38, reacting to being the oldest player in the league. James playfully screamed before running to a basket behind him and acrobatically dunking the ball.

The King" has still got it. At least, that's what GMs around the NBA seem to think.

James, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, was named the best leader (capturing 27 percent of the vote) on this year's survey. The 19-time All-Star also received votes for best small forward (13 percent), best passer (7 percent), most versatile player (28 percent), and best basketball IQ (33 percent).

Wembanyama Seen as Franchise-Starter

The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Draft lottery this offseason, giving them the privilege of selecting French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick. The 7-foot-4 center was widely seen by experts as perhaps the best basketball prospect since James. Now that Wembanyama is actually in the league, the praise isn't stopping there.

A question on the GM survey each year is: "If you were starting a franchise today and could sign any player in the NBA, who would it be?"

Jokić, the two-time MVP, led the way with 33 percent of the vote. But just behind him was the 19-year-old rookie. Nearly a quarter of GMs (23 percent) said they would pick Wembanyama to start their hypothetical team. Wembanyama received more votes than former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished third with 13 percent of the vote.

Embiid Not on MVP Radar

The Philadelphia 76ers have a variety of unknowns surrounding them heading into the new season. Former MVP and 10-time All-Star James Harden seems to desperately want out of Philly and is willing to publicly go after his bosses to do so. Nick Nurse has taken over as head coach after Doc Rivers was fired. And the 76ers might not have done enough to combat the offseason moves from the Bucks and Celtics.

GMs have noticed these questions and overwhelmingly voted the 76ers as the team whose level of success is toughest to predict (30 percent of the vote, 17 percent more than second place).

The survey has Philadelphia finishing in fourth place in the East, though there seems to be a lack of confidence in that prediction. There also appears to be a lack of respect regarding center Joel Embiid's MVP chances. Embiid won the award a season ago and finished in second place in both of the two prior seasons. This time around, GMs did not mention Embiid among MVP favorites.

Forty-three percent of the GMs think Jokić will win the award, followed by Antetokounmpo (20 percent), Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (13 percent), and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić (10 percent). Embiid is one of four players in the "receiving votes" section.

Curry, Antetokounmpo Among Best NBA Players by Position

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry's hold over the title of "best NBA point guard" isn't over yet.

For the ninth consecutive year, NBA GMs named the two-time MVP as the league's best point guard. Only Kobe Bryant and James have longer streaks of being named the best player at their position, dating back to the survey's origin in 2002. Bryant was named the best shooting guard 11 years in a row, while James went 13 consecutive years ranking No. 1 at small forward.

Curry received 63 percent of the vote as the best point guard. Rounding out the starting five as the NBA's best of the best are Phoenix Suns shooting guard Devin Booker (63 percent), Tatum at small forward (47 percent), Antetokounmpo at power forward (97 percent), and Jokić at center (93 percent).