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Tim BontempsESPN
The Los Angeles Lakers will repeat as NBA champions, according to a survey conducted by NBA general managers.
This prediction was one of many results from NBA.com’s annual survey of all 30 offices before the start of the new season. The survey included 33 questions, from which player would choose to start a franchise with the best player in each position to who will win the award for the most valuable player this year.
But one of the most unusual answers to the entire poll was the first question: who will win the title this season?
Eighty-one percent of respondents said the Lakers would repeat in 2021, with the only other team receiving more votes being rival LA Clippers, which garnered 11 percent of the vote. The only other teams selected were the Brooklyn Nets and the Miami Heat.
Milwaukee Bucks striker Giannis Antetokounmpo, who signed a five-year extension to stay with the Bucks, has been selected to win a third consecutive MVP award in the league – something that has not been the case since Larry Bird took it from 1984 to 1986.
League executives predict it will be a wide-open race, as Antetokounmpo received only 32% of the vote, while five other players – Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (21%), Lakers strikers Anthony Davis and LeBron James (18%) ), Nets striker Kevin Durant (7%), and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (4%) – also received votes.
Meanwhile, Antetokounmpo and Doncic were also favored among GM when asked which player they would choose to start a franchise with. Both players received 43% of the vote, while Davis received 7%. To show how much respect Doncic has gained in the last year, Antetokounmpo won 86% last year.
The GMs in the league voted the best player in each position to be Golden State Warriors goalie Stephen Curry (30%), Houston Rockets goalie James Harden (68%), James (57%) as a young striker, Antetokounmpo ( 46%) at power forward and Jokic (50%) in the center.
They also determined that the Lakers (37%) had the best off-season and rated goalie Chris Paul going to the Phoenix Suns (44%) as the best move before Gordon Hayward went to Charlotte. Hornets (54%) as the most surprising.
In addition, the GMs favored Hornets goalkeeper LaMelo Ball (39%) to win the rookie of the year and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra (46%) to be named the league’s best coach. The most promising young core of players headed to the New Orleans Pelicans (41%).