Nikola Jokic, Serbian basketball player, will be the most prominent player in the upcoming NBA season, according to the assessments of all 30 general managers.
Nikola Jokic received the most votes for Most Valuable Player (MVP) with 43 percent, as well as the most votes for which player GMs would build a franchise around with 33 percent. He was also voted the best center with 93 percent, the best passer with 63 percent, and the player with the highest basketball IQ with 50 percent.
The two-time league MVP was also named the best international player with 80 percent of the votes, ahead of Luka Doncic with 10 percent. Giannis Antetokounmpo came in third with seven percent.
Giannis received an astonishing 97 percent of the votes as the best power forward in the league. This marked the first time in the 11-year history of the survey that a player received over 90 percent of the votes for any position. Both Denver and Milwaukee can now boast this achievement.
Rajakovic is highly valued
The San Antonio wonder, Victor Wembanyama, received 90 percent of the votes when it comes to who will be the best of all rookies in five years. Perhaps surprisingly, he is right behind Jokic with 23 percent when it comes to the player around whom GMs would build a franchise.
The best player outside the NBA is Nikola Mirotic with 37 percent. The Montenegrin player is ahead of Real’s Walter Tavares with 27 percent. Following them are the French talent Alexandre Sarr and Dzanan Musa with 10 percent of the votes.
As for coaches, Darko Rajakovic shares the fourth spot as someone who will make the biggest impact in a new environment. The Serbian coach received seven percent of the votes for this, putting him on par with Adrian Griffin of the Bucks. The top spot goes to Ime Udoka, the new coach of the Houston Rockets, with 57 percent.