San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and his team dominated the 2026-27 NBA GM survey, with league executives naming the Spurs favorites to win the title and Wembanyama the favorite for MVP. The 25th annual survey, which polled general managers across 48 questions on players, teams, coaches and transactions, was released Thursday, according to CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports and ESPN.
The Spurs collected 50% of votes to win the 2027 title, finishing ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder at 43%, according to the survey results reported by CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports. Wembanyama, 22, drew 77% of votes for MVP and set a survey record with 93% of GMs saying he would be their first pick if they were starting a franchise from scratch, per ESPN.
Wembanyama Tops Eight Categories In GM Survey
Wembanyama finished first in eight different questions on the survey, according to NBA.com. His MVP and franchise-cornerstone percentages both set records for the highest share of votes any player has received in those categories in GM Survey history, NBA.com reported.
His defensive numbers stood out even among his other results. GMs gave him 97% of the vote both as the league’s best defensive player and as its best interior defender, according to Yahoo Sports. He also received 54% as the top international player, 57% as the most versatile player and 30% as the most versatile defender. On the question of which player forces opposing coaches into the most adjustments, Wembanyama drew 47% of votes.
Spurs’ Young Core And Title Odds
The Spurs earned 87% of votes as the team with the league’s most promising young core, according to Yahoo Sports and NBA.com. Stephon Castle, 21, is among the young players anchoring that group alongside Wembanyama. The Spurs tied the Minnesota Timberwolves at 30% of the vote for most fun team to watch.
San Antonio’s title favorite status follows a 62-win season and a surprise run to the NBA Finals, according to ESPN. The shift in GM sentiment is notable given that Oklahoma City entered last season as an 80% favorite to win the title, per CBS Sports, before the Spurs’ run through the West changed the league’s calculus this time around.
San Antonio also landed attention for an offseason move. Forward Tobias Harris, who signed a two-year, $30.8 million deal to leave the Detroit Pistons for the Spurs in July, was named the most underrated offseason acquisition with 20% of the vote, according to Yahoo Sports.
Other Survey Results Around The League
The Philadelphia 76ers drew 73% of votes for making the best offseason moves, while the New York Knicks were picked by 60% of GMs to win the Eastern Conference, according to NBA.com. San Antonio guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft, received 27% of votes as the player most likely to have a breakout season, per Yahoo Sports.
What’s Next
The results arrive days before the season opener. The Thunder visit the Spurs on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 9:30 p.m. ET, a rematch of two teams the GM survey placed at the top of the Western Conference title odds. More on that Spurs-Thunder defensive battle and the full GM survey champion picks is available as San Antonio’s development continues to draw scrutiny heading into the team’s title window.
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