Every October, John Schuhmann of NBA.com conducts the NBA GM Survey and drops it on us to pore over and consume, and its findings fuel a lot of debate and conversation. GMs are asked about individual positions, predictions for the upcoming season, best coaches and everything in between. It’s a lot of fun for basketball fans.

The system is pretty simple. General managers are not allowed to vote for their own teams or players. It’s a good way to try to keep things honest. For the most part, the executives seem to take this seriously and not give too ridiculous an answer, but years ago, Tomáš Satoranský to the Chicago Bulls was voted one of the four most underrated offseason acquisitions, and that has always made me laugh. He also received a vote for most likely to have a breakout season that year. I wonder if it was the same voter?

Anyway, there is a lot to get to with this year’s survey, but here are the five biggest takeaways (plus a bonus one) I had after reading:

‘Big Honey’ picked to win fourth MVP

Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić won the MVP award pretty overwhelmingly in three of the last five seasons. Last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke through and won pretty comfortably. Jokić still finished second in the voting, and in the last five years, he’s finished no worse than second in MVP voting.

The GMs picked Jokić to win his fourth MVP award this coming season. That’s interesting because Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning MVP, and his Oklahoma City Thunder are the defending champions. He’s in a great position for his team to win 70 games, and we know nobody can stop him on the court. But with Jokić’s Nuggets getting a bench back and looking like they could return to their championship ways, the GMs believe in Jokić taking back the MVP crown.

Jokić received 67 percent of the vote. Luka Dončić was second with 10 percent, and SGA only received 8 percent to finish third in the survey. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Edwards and Donovan Mitchell also received votes. A fourth MVP for “Big Honey” would tie him for third-most all-time with Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James. He’d be one behind Michael Jordan and Bill Russell. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the most ever with six.

They love the Atlanta Hawks

The survey named the Hawks as the team that had the best offseason. They received 53 percent of the vote. Onsi Saleh took over as general manager after Landry Fields was fired, and he did have a great run of moves, starting with the draft. The Hawks:

Acquired Asa Newell (23rd pick) and an unprotected 2026 first from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Derik Queen (13th).
Acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Minnesota in a sign-and-trade that only cost them a 2027 second-round pick.
Traded Terance Mann, Georges Niang, Drake Powell (22nd pick), and a 2031 second in a three-team deal that brought back Kristaps Porziņģis and a 2026 second.
Signed Luke Kennard to a one-year deal.

The Houston Rockets were second with 27 percent of the vote after acquiring Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith. Denver trading Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson, Dario Šarić for Jonas Valančiūnas and then bringing in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown garnered the Nuggets third place with 10 percent of the vote. Orlando (acquiring Desmond Bane and signing Tyus Jones) got 7 percent.

The Boston Celtics also received 3 percent of the vote for gutting their team this summer. I can only assume that was a sarcastic voting result.

Luka is loved, but not as much at point guard

Dončić, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, was voted the second-best point guard (17 percent), tied for third-best shooting guard (7 percent) and was named the best small forward (40 percent) in the league. That is a lot of love and positional adulation at three different positions. He’s a lead initiator and a playmaker on the floor, so you can play him pretty much anywhere, other than center, especially now that he lost all that weight! But his being named the overwhelming selection at small forward was interesting. Jayson Tatum is likely out for the season with the Achilles rupture from the playoffs, but he finished second in small forward at 20 percent.

It’s no surprise Anthony Edwards was named the top shooting guard with 70 percent of the vote. Dončić actually tied with Gilgeous-Alexander for the third spot on that list. Mitchell was second. But maybe the biggest surprise swing was Dončić being knocked off the top spot at point guard the way he was. Last year, Dončić was named top point guard on this survey with 37 percent of the vote. There are so many great point guards or lead guards in the NBA that it makes sense the voting would be that low, even for the winner.

However, this year, the result was very easy for the GMs. Gilgeous-Alexander ran away with the best point guard honor at 73 percent. That is a massive swing! Maybe the GMs got around this voting process by just agreeing that Dončić is a small forward now? I’m not sure. I do like the idea that they’re all in a room taking an exam together to fill this out, even if that’s not the case. I wonder who would cheat off the other surveys around them? I mean, you’d have to peek … right?

Luka Dončić’s versatility was on display in this year’s GM survey. (David Berding / Getty Images)

Wemby is the best defender but not the most versatile

Last year, Victor Wembanyama was named the best defensive player in the league despite just entering his second season. He received 40 percent of the vote. Once again, he’s been named the top defensive player, but the voting ballooned to the San Antonio Spurs star receiving 80 percent of the vote. Rudy Gobert, Evan Mobley, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lu Dort also received votes, but nobody was close to Wemby.

Dyson Daniels took home best perimeter defender honors with 31 percent of the vote, and obviously, Wembanyama was the best interior defender. He received 80 percent of that vote too. But Wemby wasn’t named the most versatile defender, and neither was Daniels. They both finished tied for fourth with 10 percent of the vote. The most versatile defender, according to NBA GMs, is Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets. He got 18 percent of the vote, edging out Draymond Green’s 17 percent. Pretty impressive for Thompson considering he was third for best perimeter defender behind Daniels and Alex Caruso.

Thompson was also named the most athletic player in the league.

Nuggets and Thunder even, but OKC picked to repeat

We’re going to see a great battle for the Western Conference between Denver and Oklahoma City. Houston, Minnesota and another team or two will throw their hats into the ring, but the Nuggets and Thunder should be the two favorites to win the West and the championship this season.

In the GM survey, the teams tied as the most fun to watch (27 percent each) and the best home-court advantage (43 percent each). Denver has the altitude and a pretty good crowd. OKC has a raucous crowd, all wearing the same shirt, and refusing to sit until the Thunder score their first basket.

However, Denver didn’t receive the same level of love to win it all. Denver tied with Cleveland for second in the voting at just 7 percent. Houston and New York also received votes. But the GMs believe OKC will be the first back-to-back champs since the Warriors in 2017 and 2018. An overwhelming 80 percent of GMs voted for the Thunder to stop parity’s reign of fairness. To be fair, the defending champion Celtics were picked at 83 percent last year to repeat as champs, so you never know how this will shake out.

Bonus thought: They hate the harsh second-apron rules

I mean … duh.

Roster construction was named as the rule that needed to change the most, with 26 percent of the vote. GMs said apron rules were too harsh, you should get a cap discount for the players you drafted, and offered a few other suggestions. I agree!