The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder got a lot of love in NBA.com's annual NBA GM survey. Not only will expectations be high in Oklahoma City, but around the league as well.
### Shai Gilgeous-Alexander gets respect, but should he have gotten more?
SGA took the honor of the best point guard in the NBA with a whopping 73% of GMs voting for the reigning MVP. But Shai trailed Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic for the question of who will win the 2025-26 MVP award. Shai also finished a distant second to Victor Wembanyama for the pick of the best player to start a franchise with today.
### Oklahoma City on the defensive.
Eighty-three percent of NBA GMs voted for the Thunder as the league's best defensive team, but no player finished first in the individual categories. Alex Caruso and Lu Dort finished second and fourth in the category of best perimeter defender.
### Mark Daigneualt gets some love.
For a coach who spent five years as a head coach in the G-League before getting his chance in the big leagues, Daigneault has had a rapid ascension to being among the league's elite coaches. Mark won the accolade of being the head coach with the best defensive schemes, and the Thunder's coach also finished second for best coach in the NBA, second for making the best in-game adjustments, and tied for fourth for having the best offensive schemes.
### Now, about the team.
Tied with the Denver Nuggets in both instances, OKC was named as the most fun team to watch and the team with the best home-court advantage. The Thunder was also tabbed to have the most promising young core, and the second most efficient offense.
The most significant vote was which team will win the 2026 NBA Finals, and the Thunder will head into the season as overwhelming favorites among the league's GMs, garnering 80% of the vote. Eighty-seven percent picked the reigning champs to win the Western Conference.