NBA GMs pick Spurs to beat Suns in West

How close are the Suns to winning their first NBA championship? A survey of league general managers says there is just one obstacle in their way.

Want to guess who?

NBA.com’s sixth annual survey shows the GMs once again favor the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA title, garnering 37 percent of the votes. The Suns, who lost to the Spurs in a rugged six-game series last year, finished second in the balloting at 25.9 percent, well ahead of third-place Dallas (14.8) and the top Eastern Conference team in the survey, the Detroit Pistons (7.4).

More than half of those surveyed think the Spurs will win the Western Conference (51.9 percent), followed by the Suns (29.6 percent), Dallas (14.8) and the dark-horse Houston Rockets (3.7). The Pistons and the Boston Celtics are co-favorites to win the Eastern Conference at 25.9 percent, ahead of the Chicago Bulls (22.2) and Miami Heat (14.8).

The GMs don’t see the Suns even being tested in the Pacific Division. Phoenix was a unanimous choice to win for the fourth straight year and was the only team to earn all the votes. Dallas (44.4 percent) is the pick to edge out San Antonio (40.7) and the Houston Rockets (14.8) in the Southwest Division, while Utah (74.1 percent) is the prohibitive favorite to win the Northwest over Denver (25.9).

Individually, the GMs think LeBron James will win his first MVP award (29.6 percent) and nearly six out of 10 GMs would pick James as the first player to start a new franchise. Steve Nash remains the runaway choice as best point guard (85.2 percent) and finished second to Kobe Bryant as the player that forces opposing coaches to make the most adjustments.