SGA, Thunder Named 2026 NBA Title Favorites in GM Survey over Cavs, Nuggets

Entering the 2025-26 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the overwhelming favorites among NBA general managers to repeat as NBA champions.

As part of the annual anonymous NBA GM survey conducted by NBA.com's John Schuhmann, the Thunder garnered 80 percent of the vote when asked to pick which team will win the 2025-26 NBA Finals.

OKC was followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets, who each earned 7 percent. The Houston Rockets and New York Knicks also received votes, which suggests they finished with 3 percent apiece.

Also, 87 percent of the general managers picked the Thunder to win the Western Conference, followed by the Nuggets at 10 percent and the Rockets at 3 percent.

The OKC love comes as little surprise given how dominant the team was throughout the 2024-25 campaign.

Led by the NBA MVP in guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder finished with a league-best record of 68-14 before going the distance during the postseason.

It wasn't an easy road for the Thunder in the playoffs, though, as the Nuggets pushed them to seven games in the second round, and the Indiana Pacers did the same in the Finals.

Pacers-Thunder Full Highlights

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Ultimately, Oklahoma City prevailed 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and Gilgeous-Alexander put a bow on a storybook season by earning NBA Finals MVP honors.

It isn't easy to keep elite teams together during the current era of the NBA salary cap, but Thunder general manager Sam Presti has done precisely that.

Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star forward Jalen Williams and 7-footer Chet Holmgren all signed lengthy, big-money extensions with the Thunder this offseason.

On top of that, key contributors such as Alex Caruso, Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace are all back in the fold.

No NBA team has won back-to-back titles since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018, but there is little doubt that the Thunder have the pieces needed to make it happen.