GMs pick the Sixers’ offseason as the NBA’s best and the Spurs as title favorites

NBA general managers voted the Philadelphia 76ers’ summer as the league’s best in NBA.com’s annual GM survey, with 73 percent of respondents picking the Sixers’ roster moves. The Heat finished a distant second at 10 percent, while the Hornets received two votes and the Celtics, Timberwolves and Raptors one apiece.

The confidence only went so far. Philadelphia also led the voting as the team whose 2026-27 success is toughest to predict at 27 percent, ahead of Minnesota at 17 percent, with the Lakers and Jazz tied at 13 percent.

After the Thunder were voted the league’s top young core in each of the past two surveys, the Spurs took 87 percent of that vote this time behind Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. San Antonio was also the pick to win the 2027 championship at 50 percent, a year after losing the Finals to New York in five games. The Thunder followed at 43 percent, while the defending champion Knicks and the Sixers received one vote each.

Wembanyama set survey records with 77 percent of the MVP vote and 93 percent as the player GMs would most like to start a franchise with, and he earned the maximum 97 percent for both best defensive player and best interior defender. He was the top choice on eight different questions in the survey, which does not allow GMs to vote for their own teams or players.

Elsewhere in the results, new Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo drew 53 percent as the offseason acquisition who will make the biggest impact, ahead of new Sixers forward Jaylen Brown at 20 percent. New Spurs forward Tobias Harris was voted the most underrated pickup at 20 percent, followed by Celtics center Mitchell Robinson at 17 percent.