NBA GMS projected former Duke center Jahlil Okafor as the NBA Rookie of the Year and named former Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns the most likely to be the best player from the 2015 draft class five years from now.
Miami’s Justise Winslow of Duke was also named the biggest steal of the NBA Draft with 31 percent of the vote.
The results are from the annual NBA GM survey done by NBA.com.
Anthony Davis, another former Kentucky big man, received an overwhelming 86.2 percent of the votes from general managers for player they would want to start a franchise with today. Additionally, San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard was tabbed the league’s top defender (27.6 percent) while San Antonio’s three-time NBA Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich received 93.1 percent of the votes for the league’s best coach.
The GMS also predict the Cleveland Cavaliers (53.6 percent of the vote) will capture their first ever NBA title.
Cleveland’s four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James received 39.3 percent of the MVP votes by the league’s general managers. New Orleans Davis (25 percent) finished second in the MVP voting, followed by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (10.7 percent) and Houston Rockets guard James Harden (10.7 percent), then Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (7.1 percent) and Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (7.1 percent).
Photo: USA Today Sports
