NBA GMs: Celtis Favorite to Repeat as Champs, Gilgeous-Alexander MVP

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander No. 2, the star player of the Canadian team, drives against Anthony Davis No. 14 of the United States in the first half of their exhibition game ahead of the Paris Olympic Games at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 10, 2024. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Boston Celtics are the favorite to repeat as champions and Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets the nod as the potential MVP, according to an annual survey of NBA general managers about the upcoming season.

Boston finished last year with the best regular-season record in the NBA, 64–18, and won its 18th NBA title, the most in league history. Eighty-three percent of the GMs in the survey believe the Celtics will become the first repeat champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017–2018.

Oklahoma City is the second favorite to win the title with 13 percent of the votes, followed by the Dallas Mavericks at 3 percent. Last year, the Celtics and Nuggets shared 33 percent of the vote.

“It was never about trying to just win one,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said at the Sept. 24 media day. “Now you get to at least be in the same room with the other Celtics great teams, great players. All the guys I looked up to growing up won at least one championship. Now it’s just a conversation of how great are you trying to be? What room or what tier are you trying to be mentioned in when it’s all said and done?”

Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a season in which he averaged 30.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. He led the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference with a 57–25 record and emerged as one of the top NBA scorers with his ability to drive in the paint.

Gilgeous-Alexander garnered 40 percent of the GM’s vote for probable MVP, followed by Dallas superstar forward/guard Luka Doncic (30 percent), Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (7 percent), Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (7 percent), and Tatum (7 percent).

However, Doncic received 37 percent of the GMs’ votes as the best guard in the NBA, followed by Gilgeous-Alexander (30 percent) and Golden State’s Stephen Curry (23 percent).

Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 center for the San Antonio Spurs, is one of the NBA’s rising stars. Last season, he averaged 24.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. This summer, he led his native France to the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics against the United States, where he scored 26 points in a 98–87 loss to the Americans.

When NBA general managers were asked which player they would sign if they were starting a new franchise, Wembanyama was the overwhelming favorite, receiving  77 percent of the vote. Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic tied for second with 10 percent of the vote. Last year, Jokic was the favorite with 33 percent of the vote, and he had another solid season, averaging 28.7 points and 13.4 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has another stout guard/forward with Jalen Williams, who helps make the Thunder a formidable team in the Western Conference. Williams, who averaged 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, is expected to be the top breakout player this season, according to the league’s general managers. Williams earned 13 percent of the vote, followed by Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley, Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, and Wembanyama, who each received 10 percent.

Doncic’s name surfaced again when opposing coaches named the player, forcing them to make the most adjustments. The versatile Doncic earned 33 percent of the vote, followed by Curry (30 percent) and Jokic (23 percent).