How 23 of 29 GMs Put Wembanyama Ahead for MVP Before Tip
Victor Wembanyama drew 77 percent of the MVP vote in the 2026-27 NBA GM Survey, and GMs picked the Spurs to win the title.
Photo: NBA.com. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs.
Twenty-three of twenty-nine general managers put Victor Wembanyama first on the 2026-27 Kia MVP ballot in the league's annual survey, released Thursday on NBA.com. That is 77 percent of the vote, with Nikola Jokić next at 10 percent and Anthony Edwards at 7 percent, per the same survey. Clubs cannot vote for their own players, so the ceiling is 29.
His defensive votes
Last season Wembanyama averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 blocks and 3.1 assists and became the first player in NBA history to win Defensive Player of the Year unanimously, per CBS Sports.
GMs gave him 97 percent as the league's best defensive player and 97 percent as the best interior defender. He also took 93 percent as the player they would start a franchise with, the highest share in GM Survey history for that question, and 57 percent as the most versatile player in the league, both from NBA.com. Overall, he finished first on eight different survey questions, per NBA.com.
Jokić kept best center at 63 percent to Wembanyama's 37 percent. Giannis Antetokounmpo took best power forward at 70 percent, with Wembanyama second at 23 percent.
Spurs over Thunder on the title line
San Antonio took 50 percent of the votes to win the 2027 NBA Finals. Oklahoma City took 43 percent. A year ago the Thunder sat at 80 percent on that same question. In the West rankings, the Spurs drew 53 percent first-place West votes, the Thunder 47 percent, with both clubs nearly even on total points, per NBA.com.
The Spurs got 87 percent as the most promising young group, with Wembanyama (22), Stephon Castle (21) and Dylan Harper (20) named in the lead. Harper led the breakout-season ballot at 27 percent.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept best point guard at 67 percent. The Thunder kept best defensive team at 77 percent.
Coaching adjustments
Asked which player forces the most opposing coaching adjustments, GMs put Wembanyama first at 47 percent, ahead of Jokić at 33 percent and Gilgeous-Alexander at 10 percent.
The Spurs open the regular season on Oct. 20.
Sources
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