GM survey shows executives still love Steph Curry

The Warriors point guard topped multiple categories in the NBA’s annual survery of its 30 general managers

For the first time in nine years, Steph Curry is no longer the NBA’s top point guard in the NBA’s annual GM survey. He still led in four different categories.

Every year since 2002, the NBA has done an annual survey of its 30 general managers where they’re asked to answer questions ranging from choosing the best player at each position, to predicting the most likely NBA champions, to determining who is the NBA’s best leader. While Curry was only third in the point guard results with 23% of the vote — and 10% of the votes for best shooting guard — he topped four other questions.

Which player is the best pure shooter?

Curry got 87% of the votes, meaning 26 of the 30 GMs thought he was the league’s best shooter. Or 27 did, since Mike Dunleavy Jr. can’t vote for his own players. That’s down one single vote from last season, when Curry also led with 90% of the votes. Two of the remaining votes went to his old friends Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, while the others went to Luke Kennard and Trey Murphy III, who shot 38% from three-point range last season. However, his name is Trey, which counts for something.

In the last 11 seasons that the GM survey has posed this question, Curry has been the top choice, and in the last five surveys, he’s received 86% of the votes or more.

Which player is the best at moving without the ball?

Curry took the top spot with 83% of the votes in this one, with other votes going to Klay, Desmond Bane, C.J. McCollum, Duncan Robinson, and oddly, Mikal Bridges. This result will of course inspire Steve Kerr to take the ball out of Curry’s hands more. Luckily there is not a question for, “What small guard sets the most screens for his team’s centers, even in the Olympic Games?”

Which player is the best leader?

This vote was closer, with Curry taking ¹⁄₃ of the total votes. His ten votes edged out both LeBron James and Jalen Brunson, who got seven votes. Two votes each went to Nikola Jokic, Jrue Holiday, and Chris Paul, meaning the Warriors absolutely dominated the NBA in leadership last season. Just not actual basketball.

Which player would you want taking a shot with the game on the line?

Just like in the Olympics, Curry was the top choice for this question, taking 40% of the votes, edging out second-place Durant. Since Curry won the Jerry West trophy for being the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year, this result is not unexpected. It’s the third year in a row and the seventh year overall that the GMs have picked Curry for this question. Other late-game choices were Doncic, Jokic, and Oakland’s own Damian Lillard.

Warriors coaches also got some love from the GM survey, as Kerr was the fourth choice in the question of which head coach runs the best offense, behind winner Rick Carlisle. Chris DeMarco and Terry Stotts each got one vote as the NBA’s best assistant coach.

As for the team overall, the Warriors got one GM vote to finish in 4th place in the Western Conference. The executives only vote for places 1-4, so the Warriors’ No. 8 finish reflects that two more GMs believed in the New Orleans Pelicans’ ability to finish in the top 4 than the Warriors.

We’d be curious to see who Dunleavy voted for in the categories where he wasn’t allowed to vote for the baby-faced assassin. The survey is anonymous, but the one thing you can surmise is that Celtics GM Brad Stevens picked the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the East, because everyone who was allowed to picked the Boston Celtics to return to the NBA Finals.

Only the Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Dallas Mavericks got votes for NBA champions. The only consolation is that the last time the Warriors won it all, 72% of general managers thought it would be the Brooklyn Nets winning it all. To paraphrase Lloyd Christmas, “So the GMs are saying there’s a chance!”