October 15, 2026
Kevin Barrett/for PhillyVoice
Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey is nearing his first regular season as a lead executive.
The NBA released its annual GM Survey on Thursday, with all 30 teams represented anonymously.
From predicting the 2026-27 NBA champions to identifying potential breakout players, this wide-ranging survey features 48 questions spanning all sorts of league matters.
Predictably, the Sixers and their players were frequent recipients of votes this time around; their dream offseason has set up a season with significant expectations.
Every mention of the Sixers in the 2026 NBA GM Survey:
The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder received a combined 93 percent of votes – 28 out of 30.
The two remaining votes were split between the Sixers and the New York Knicks, the two teams that will square off on Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
The Sixers received the second-highest vote share of any Eastern Conference team, only trailing the defending champions. Exactly 70 percent of voters had them as a top-four seed:
| Seed | Vote share |
| 1 | 23% |
| 2 | 17% |
| 3 | 20% |
| 4 | 10% |
Perhaps predictably, the winner here was incoming sophomore Spurs guard Dylan Harper.
Tyrese Maxey – a Most Improved Player Award winner in 2023-24 and a first-time All-NBA honoree last season – was among those receiving votes.
Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers was the leading vote-getter here, an interesting choice given he is functionally a point guard (and received 10 percent of votes at point guard and shooting guard). He narrowly defeated Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, with the Toronto Raptors' returning star Kawhi Leonard third.
Sixers newcomer Jaylen Brown was among those also receiving votes.
The Sixers ran away with this one, collecting 73 percent of votes.
The results for this question were as follows:
| Player | Vote share |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 53% |
| Jaylen Brown | 20% |
| LeBron James | 13% |
| Kawhi Leonard | 13% |
Old friend Tobias Harris was the leading vote-getter here as he joined the Spurs; Kelly Oubre Jr. was one of others receiving votes. So were Sixers reserves Anfernee Simons and Dean Wade.
Sixers rookie Labaron Philon Jr., drafted No. 22 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, was in a three-way tie for second place, earning 10 percent of votes.
MORE: Will Philon be traded before deadline?
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was the leading vote-getter; Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was among others receiving votes.
The Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves each received 30 percent of votes, with the Sixers and Denver Nuggets tying for third place with 10 percent of votes apiece.
Behind back-to-back reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder received a leading 27 percent of votes. With 10 percent of votes, the Sixers came in fifth.
MORE: Before trade, Jaylen Brown went to Morocco with two soon-to-be teammates
No surprise here: for the second season in a row, the Sixers were the leading vote-getters. After taking home a whopping 47 percent of votes a year ago, the Sixers' share went down to 27 percent.
Amen Thompson of the Houston Rockets was far and away the leading vote-getter here; his twin brother, Ausar Thompson of the Detroit Pistons, came in third. VJ Edgecombe also received votes.
Maxey received the majority of the votes here, with 53 percent of respondents choosing the Sixers' star point guard. His running mate, Edgecombe, came in sixth, receiving one vote.
MORE: Does Jaylen Brown have a new home in the dunker spot?
Nikola Jokić of the Denver Nuggets predictably received most of the votes; 87 percent of voters selected the three-time NBA MVP. LeBron James received one vote.
Jalen Brunson of the Knicks received more than half of the votes here; James was one of others receiving votes.
The Spurs' phenom Victor Wembanyama earned the majority of these votes; James was one of others receiving votes.
Out of 30 voters, 20 selected Jokić, and the other 10 chose James.
MORE: LeBron cements himself as the Sixers' quarterback in preseason debut
