NBA GMs Pick The Milwaukee Bucks As The Title Favorites Ahead Of The 2022-23 Season

NBA GMs predict the Milwaukee Bucks will win the 2023 championship.

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Summer is a time of change for the NBA. As the period in between seasons, it's an opportunity for teams to build their roster and players to build up their game.

This year, in the aftermath of several key additions, the Eastern Conference is shaping up to be a highly competitive environment with a lot of really excellent teams.

Still, according to NBA GMs across the league, it isn't the up-and-coming Celtics or the new-look 76ers who are primed to win the title this year. 

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The Milwaukee Bucks Are Named As The Favorites To Win The Championship This Season

Apparently, it's the Milwaukee Bucks, who are shaping up to be fully healthy again for the first time in over a year.

(via NBA)

In last season’s NBA App GM Survey, the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks were not the favorite to repeat. Instead, the favorite was the Brooklyn Nets — the team that had just lost to the Bucks in Game 7 of the conference semifinals.

This year, the Bucks lost in Game 7 of the conference semis. Now they’re the title favorite for the first time in the 21-year history of the GM Survey.

They’re not an overwhelming favorite, though. In fact, this is just the third time in the last 13 years that no team has received at least 50% of the GM’s votes to win the title. The Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers and Boston Celtics also received multiple votes from the league’s decision-makers.

While the Eastern Conference appears to be stronger than it’s been in the last 20 years, GMs see more parity in the West, where nine different teams received votes (and all nine received multiple votes) to finish in the top four. While the Bucks received 72% of the GM’s votes to win the East, the Warriors and Clippers tied atop the West, each garnering 48% of the votes.

The Bucks beat out the Warriors, Clippers, and Nets with over 40% of the total vote.

Which team will win the 2023 NBA Finals?

1. Milwaukee Bucks – 43%
2. Golden State Warriors – 25%
3. LA Clippers – 21%
4. Boston Celtics – 11%
» Last year: Brooklyn Nets – 72%

By himself, Giannis is good enough to make the Bucks instant title contenders. Last season, he averaged 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game on 55.3% shooting.

But with Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, and others, the Bucks have the chance to make some serious noise this year and there may be no way of slowing them down.