Le Freak, ce n'est pas chic

Giannis Antetokounmpo has been usurped by the Fre(nc/s)h new thing.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Portrait of Jo (La Belle Irlandaise); Gustave Courbet; 1865-66

The NBA’s annual general manager survey is out. The GM survey is so many things: a signal that the regular season is fast approaching, an education on the current consensus on top players and teams, a reveal on how much people in this position herd around common opinions.

To wit, 25 of the 30 GMs voted for the Celtics as the likely 2024-25 champion after only 10 voted for them last year. Four GMs picked the Thunder. (Bold!) One picked the Mavericks. No one picked a single non-Boston East team or the Nuggets, 2023’s champion. Wild.

It appears everyone picked Boston as the best team in the East … except for Brad Stevens, since GMs cannot select their own team. That herding reveals who Stevens chose: the Cleveland Cavaliers!

Twenty-four GMs chose OKC to win the No. 1 seed in the West; two GMs each picked Denver, Dallas and Phoenix. The Grizzlies hype is not as widespread as believed.

The other big takeaway throughout the survey is that it appears some GMs think Giannis Antetokounmpo’s era as a dominant force has been superseded by new blood.