It's that time of the year again when the NBA general managers offer their thoughts on the brand-new NBA season that is rapidly approaching. That process came with some good, and some bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The first question asked of the NBA GMs in their annual survey was which team will win the 2026 NBA Finals. The Cavaliers got some consideration in this category, being tied for second in the voting. The caveat? That second-placed tie with the Denver Nuggets came at a low figure of only seven percent.
To no one's surprise, the Oklahoma City Thunder were favored to repeat as NBA champions. The Thunder received a staggering 80 percent of the votes to once again hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy at the end of the 2025-26 season.
The silver lining for the Cavaliers would be the fact that this is not anything definitive. In 2024, the Boston Celtics received 83 percent of the vote to repeat as champions, and they fell short of that accomplishment. However, those two situations are not built in entirely the same mold.
GMs love what the Cavaliers built — but Thunder have everyone’s attention
In terms of the outwardly perspective ahead of the regular season, there is a painful truth that needs to be understood for Cavaliers fans. With the weakened Eastern Conference, Cleveland can simply come off as a team filling a power vacuum after the Celtics and Indiana Pacers, the last two East representatives in the NBA Finals, fell victim to brutal injuries.
The Cavaliers have every opportunity to prove that notion wrong. However, picking the sound structural model of the Thunder as the favorites to win the championship once more is a perfectly rational and justifiable move.
Not only does Oklahoma City have a championship core, they have a group that is still ascending. The main pieces of the puzzle, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, have an average age under 25 between them.
Those tremendous talents are supported by some fantastic role players, some of whom are also still fairly young themselves. Unlike the Celtics who were clearly living on borrowed time with their cap situation, the Thunder are still rising and built for sustainability with their draft pick stockpile.
No one since the Golden State Warriors has stood out as a real threat to be a dynasty quite like the Thunder have. If the Cavaliers want to play the role of spoiler, a lot has to go right for them.
Evan Mobley must properly ascend. Darius Garland has to stay healthy in the NBA Playoffs. The admirable depth on the roster needs to shine when it matters most. The Cavaliers have a formula that can lead to a title in 2025-26, but that does not come without the majority of the scales tipping in their favor.