Warriors, Cavaliers Lead Way In NBA GM Survey; Celtics Also Well-Represented

It’s almost time for another NBA season, and if it goes as the league’s general managers expect, this campaign will look a whole lot like the last one.

NBA.com recently asked the general managers of all 30 teams a series of 48 questions, and their answers were announced Tuesday one week before the season tips off. The headline question was which team would win the NBA Finals, and it should shock no one that the Golden State Warriors (69 percent) came in first, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers (31 percent).

As for which teams could give Golden State and Cleveland the most resistance, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics were picked to finish second and third, respectively, in the Eastern Conference, while the San Antonio Spurs (second) and Los Angeles Clippers (third) were in similar situations in the Western Conference.

LeBron James was picked for MVP, while Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, James Harden and Kevin Durant rounded out the top five, respectively –Harden and Curry were tied for third.

Celtics fans will be happy to know the general managers think highly of Boston coach Brad Stevens. He was in the top three for voting in almost every coaching category, while Gregg Popovich was picked as the best NBA coach overall. The Celtics also got some love on the defensive end, as the GMs voted them as the second-best defense in the league, and Avery Bradley’s name came up multiple times in the individual categories.

There are simply way too many categories to list here, though, so you can check out all the results at NBA.com here.

Oct. 25 can’t come soon enough.