NBA GMs High On Sixers’ Offseason Moves, Wembanyama’s Impact

The Sixers made the best roster moves during the 2026 offseason, according to the NBA’s general managers. Within his annual survey of the league’s top basketball decision-makers, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes that 73% of his respondents picked Philadelphia as having the best summer, with the Heat coming in a distant second place at 10% (three votes). The Hornets were selected by two respondents (7%), and the Celtics, Timberwolves and Raptors received one vote apiece.

Interestingly, the GMs weren’t as confident in predicting the 76ers’ to be successful in 2026/27. Philadelphia was the top choice (27%) for the team whose level of success is toughest to predict, followed by Minnesota (17%), the Lakers and the Jazz (tied with 13%).

After the Thunder were voted as having the top young core in both 2024 and 2025, the Spurs were the overwhelming choice this time around. Led by Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, San Antonio received 87% of the vote. The Wizards (7%) were the only other team to receive more than one vote.

The Spurs were also the favored choice (50%) to win the championship after losing the 2026 NBA Finals to New York in five games. The Thunder, who won the 2025 title but were defeated by San Antonio in the 2026 Western Conference finals, came in a close second at 43%. The defending champion Knicks received one vote, as did the Sixers.

As Schuhmann details, Wembanyama set GM survey records for the highest percentage of votes received for MVP (77%) and the player GMs would most like to start a franchise with (93%). The French big man was the top choice for eight different questions, including receiving the maximum possible 97% for both best defensive player and best interior defender (GMs were not permitted to vote for their own teams or personnel).

Here are a few more interesting results from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

• New Heat forward Giannis Antetokounmpo got 53% of the vote as the offseason acquisition who will make the biggest impact in 2026/27, with new Sixers forwards Jaylen Brown (20%) and LeBron James coming in at second and tied for fourth, respectively. Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard also received 13% of the vote.
• New Spurs forward Tobias Harris was chosen by general managers as the most underrated offseason acquisition, receiving 20% of the vote, followed by Celtics center Mitchell Robinson (17%) and Hornets big man Naz Reid (10%). LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga of the Timberwolves, Luguentz Dort of the Hawks and Peyton Watson of the Cavaliers all received two votes apiece (7%).
• The league’s general managers are high on No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer — the Grizzlies forward is their pick for Rookie of the Year (50%), ahead of fellow top-four picks Caleb Wilson (Bulls; 20%), AJ Dybantsa (Wizards; 17%) and Darryn Peterson (Jazz; 13%). However, Boozer came in third (23%) when GMs were asked to predict which rookie will be the best player in five years, behind Dybantsa and Wilson (tied for first at 33%) and ahead of Peterson (10%).
• Bucks guard Brayden Burries, the 10th overall pick in June, received the largest vote share (30%) for the draft’s biggest steal by a comfortable margin. Raptors forward Allen Graves (19th), Sixers guard Labaron Philon Jr. (22nd) and Cavaliers guard Meleek Thomas (34th) tied for second with three votes each (10%).
• While the Spurs and Thunder are viewed as by far the top-two teams in the West, combining to receive all of the first-place votes and all but two of the second-place selections, GMs are less certain about the rankings in the East. The Knicks (60% first place, 27% second) are easily considered the top team, but the vote share amongst the two-to-five group (Sixers, Cavaliers, Celtics and Pistons, in that order) was relatively evenly distributed. The Raptors came in at sixth, followed by the Pacers and Heat, who tied for seventh.