The Oklahoma City Thunder is heavily favored to win the 2026 NBA Finals in the association's annual GM survey of all 30 teams. While analysts make bold predictions about the 2025-26 Thunder , including a 70-win regular season, Oklahoma City is picked to become the first repeat champions since 2017 ahead of the Golden State Warriors' 2017-18 championship season.

The Thunder earned 80% of NBA GMs' votes predicting a back-to-back champion . The Cleveland Cavs and the Denver Nuggets were tied for second with 7% of the votes. Out of 49 questions, a few of the defending champions' names ranked high in polls, including MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander . He was voted the best point guard in the NBA with 73% of the votes, beating out Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (17%) and Warriors' Step

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