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The annual NBA GM Survey offers a fantastic yearly glimpse into what the lead executives around the league value and how they think.

Itâ€s also a terrible predictive tool — donâ€t place your bets based on their responses (might I recommend the clever folks at the NBC Sports betting page for your tips). A year ago, 25 of the 30 GMs picked Boston to repeat (that was probably 26, Brad Stevens canâ€t vote for his own team), yet Oklahoma City won 68 games and the title — the GMs have picked the champion just once in the last seven years (the 2024 Celtics).

So, is it a worrying sign for Oklahoma City that 24 of the 30 GMS picked them to repeat as champions? No, itâ€s more a sign of the conventional wisdom thinking around the league, which this survey certainly provides. Some highlights from the voting:

NBA Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder (80% of the vote). Cleveland and Denver were tied for second (7% each).

East Champion: Cleveland Cavaliers (63% of voters had them first, 27% second), with the New York Knicks second (30% first-place votes, 53% second).

West Champion: Oklahoma City Thunder (87% of voters had them first). Denver was second (10% had them first).

Who will win MVP? Nikola Jokic, 67% of the vote. The next three in line were Luka Doncic (10%), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (8%), and Victor Wembanyama (7%).

Who will win Rookie of the Year? Cooper Flagg, who got all but one vote (and Nico Harrison canâ€t vote for his own guy, so there was one vote for VJ Edgecombe). Flagg was also overwhelmingly voted the rookie that will be the best in this class five years from now (just know five years ago the GMs voted James Wiseman that honor).

What player would you pick to start a franchise? Victor Wembanyama (83% of the vote, which makes you wonder what the other 17% are thinking).

Player most likely to have a breakout season: Amen Thompson in Houston (30% of the vote). Brandon Miller (Charlotte), Ausar Thompson (Detroit) and Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio) were tied for second.

Which team made the best overall moves this offseason? The Atlanta Hawks (53% of the vote). The second choice went to the Houston Rockets (27%).

Which one player acquisition will make the biggest impact? Kevin Durant to Houston (73% of the vote). Desmond Bane to Orlando was second, and also voted the most underrated move of the offseason.

Most surprising move of the offseason: Milwaukee waiving/stretching Damian Lillard (second on this list was the Bucks signing Myles Turner, which only happened because of the waive/stretch of Lillard).

Who was the biggest steal in terms of where they were drafted? In a bit of a surprise, it went to Kasparas Jakucionis to Miami, selected at No. 20. Tied for second was Ace Bailey to Utah at No. 5 and Carter Bryant to San Antonio at No. 14.

Best defender in the NBA: Victor Wembanyama with 80% of the vote. Dyson Daniels was voted the best perimeter defender in the league.

Who is the best head coach in the NBA? Newly minted USA Basketball head coach Erik Spoelstra of Miami, with 52% of the vote (OKCâ€s Mark Daigneault was second, and the Clippers†Tyronn Lue was third).

Which teamâ€s level of success this season is toughest to predict? The Philadelphia 76ers got 47% of the vote (Dallas and Golden State were second and third). With all due respect to the questions around the Mavs and Warriors, how do you not pick the Sixers?

Which player is the most athletic? Amen Thompson got 58% of the vote to finish first (Anthony Edwards in Minnesota was second).

Hereâ€s one I questioned a little: The GMs voted Stephen Curry the best leader in the NBA. That surprised me. Not that Curry isnâ€t a strong leader, but would you put him ahead of Jalen Brunson, LeBron James, or even the injured Damian Lillard?

One other interesting question and answer: What rule most needs to change? The No. 1 answer was concerns about roster construction, specifically that the tax apron rules are too harsh, and that there should be a salary cap discount for a teamâ€s own drafted players. A lot of fans feel the same way.

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  Tim BontempsOct 9, 2025, 11:46 AM ET

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  Tim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what’s impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast.

The annual NBA.com survey of all 30 of the league’s front offices has tapped the Oklahoma City Thunder to defend their title.

Like in ESPN’s annual offseason survey last month, the Thunder were runaway favorites to win the title, with 80% of general managers across the NBA picking OKC to win for a second straight year — which, if the Thunder are able to do so, would mark the first time since the Golden State Warriors repeated in 2018 that a team would manage to repeat as champions.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets each got a couple of votes, while the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks each received a single selection.

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The annual survey — which goes out to all 30 teams and doesn’t allow teams to pick themselves or anyone from their own rosters, meaning no player or team can ever get better than 97% of the vote in a category — also had Oklahoma City and Cleveland as the heavy favorites to win their respective conferences. Besides the Thunder — who were first on 87% of ballots, and second on the remaining 10% — the Nuggets received 10% of the first-place votes and the Rockets received a single one.

They were followed, in order, by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Warriors, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.

In the East, Cleveland and New York both were unanimously selected to finish in the top three spots in the East, with the Cavaliers getting 63% of the votes for first place, 27% for second place and 7% for third. The Knicks, meanwhile, received 30%, 53% and 13%, respectively.

The only other team to receive any first-place votes was the Orlando Magic, who received 7%. The Magic were also picked to finish third overall, followed by the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics.

Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who has finished first or second in the last five MVP ballots, was the runaway pick to win this year’s top individual honor, claiming 67% of the votes, while Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama received 83% of the votes as the player GMs would pick if they had a chance to select anyone to start a franchise, making him the winner in that category for the second straight season.

Rockets forward Amen Thompson, meanwhile, received 30% of the votes in the “most likely to have a breakout season” category, which goes hand-in-hand with him being the current betting favorite to be this season’s Most Improved Player.

There was little debate over who the best player is at any position, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jokic claiming the honor at each position. The only one of the five positions to receive less than 70% of the vote for the top selection was small forward, where Doncic received 40%, followed by Jayson Tatum (20), Kevin Durant (17), LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard (7 each), with Jaylen Brown, Jimmy Butler and Jalen Williams each getting a single vote.

In the offseason superlatives section, the Hawks (53%) were the top pick for having the best offseason, followed by the Rockets (27%) and Nuggets (10%). The Rockets trading for Kevin Durant, meanwhile, was picked as the offseason move that will have the biggest impact, while the Magic were both picked as the most improved team this season (47%) and having made the most underrated move by trading for guard Desmond Bane and the Thunder (83%) were tapped as the league’s best defensive team.

Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft, was the massive favorite to win both Rookie of the Year and to be the best rookie from this class in five years, while Miami Heat guard Kasparas Jakucionis was the pick to be the biggest steal in this year’s draft class.

In the individual superlatives section, Wembanyama (80%) was picked as the league’s best defensive player; Erik Spoelstra (52%) was picked as its best coach for the sixth straight season; Jokic (80%) was picked as the NBA’s best passer and player with the highest basketball IQ, while Antetokounmpo and Wembanyama were tied, with 30% of the vote each, for the honor of being the league’s most versatile player, and Stephen Curry was the winner, with 47% of the vote, for being the player you’d want to take a shot with the game on the line.

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ATLANTA — The Braves arenâ€t strangers to hosting youth baseball players at Truist Park.

The 44 Classic, in honor of Hank Aaron, serves to spotlight diverse high school baseball talent across the Southeastern United States.

For the first time since its inception in 2019, there were two divisions — 30 high school freshmen and sophomores and 44 juniors and seniors. In years prior, the event featured just juniors and seniors but this yearâ€s event included the freshman and sophomore junior division.

The student-athletes participated in the two-day event that featured a pro-style workout on Saturday and two games on Sunday, both of which took place at Truist Park. There was a Junior Division game (consisting of freshmen and sophomores) followed by a Senior Division game (juniors and seniors).

Braves senior director of alumni relations and growing the game Greg McMichael — who was a relief pitcher for Atlanta from 1993 to 1996 and helped the Braves to their 1995 World Series championship — has been a vital contributor to these special events in recent years.

“Itâ€s been really exciting to see some of these kids,†McMichael said. “This year weâ€ve done it a little bit differently. We brought in the Junior [Division]. They consist mainly of our best RBI [Nikeâ€s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Program] kids. Theyâ€re the younger kids, freshmen and sophomores. Our scouting group recommended a few players from around the [Southeast]. So we have probably the best talent weâ€ve had since we started this thing. From what Iâ€m hearing there are about six potential Draft picks that [are here].â€

Though he is not a Draft pick as of now, Parkview standout outfielder Malachi Washington is an LSU commit who has played in the 44 Classic the past two years.

“Itâ€s a lot bigger,†Washington said about playing at Truist Park. “Itâ€s huge. [Thereâ€s] a lot more grass to cover. It feels like [being a] pro almost. It feels like being in the big leagues. When you stand in right field you feel like Ronald Acuña. In center field you feel like Michael Harris. Itâ€s really cool seeing the backdrop knowing youâ€re on an MLB field. Itâ€s amazing.â€

There were multiple MLB alumni coaches involved in the 44 Classic. Gerald Perry, Terry Harper and Jerome Walton were on-site coaching in partnership with the Marquis Grissom Baseball Association. Washington and his teammates were given the opportunity to learn from former MLB players.

“Getting experience from veteran guys who have played in the league and who know so much about the game, you can always learn more,†Washington said. “Itâ€s great to get out here and just learn, every day, something new about baseball.â€

The Metro Atlanta area was well-represented throughout the event and Washington was one of five Parkview players who participated this weekend.

“[There are] a lot of guys from my high school,†Washington said. “Joseph Mendez, CJ Woolcock. Ellis Appling, Emani Ford, all those guys go to my high school. Santos Wade [who is home schooled], just a bunch of great guys and a bunch of good names. It just makes us closer. Itâ€s sick, all of us getting invited to such a prestigious and awesome event. It means a lot.â€

Current Braves first baseman Matt Olson and former outfielder Jeff Francoeur are Parkview graduates.

“It means the world, having Matt Olson being talked about every day at our high school [and] Jeff Francoeur, names like that,†Washington said. “Itâ€s really surreal getting to play on the same field they get to play on and hit home runs on. I was fortunate enough to be here for the whole [2025] All-Star Weekend. I got invited to the [MLB High School] Home Run Derby. I have played here a couple of times.â€

“It started with Hank,†McMichael said. “Weâ€re trying to continue his dream of seeing a lot of opportunity and access for kids who are in Atlanta and the Southeast who are able to play this game at a high level. Itâ€s not just about playing the game, itâ€s about being in the game. Thereâ€s plenty of opportunities to be in the game of baseball. There are multiple who have come through The RBI program who are now working for us. Weâ€re really excited about that.â€

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