Reed Sheppard is a Victor Wembanyama-like favorite to win Rookie of the Year among NBA GMs

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What’s up hoops fans. It’s your boy Prince here for Layup Lines. And the smell of basketball is in the air with the preseason officially underway. Get pumped.

The annual NBA GM survey dropped Tuesday, giving the public a glimpse of how the league’s 30 general managers see things playing out over the upcoming season.

From best players at each position to award predictions and championship picks, the survey is a good way to cross-check some of our hottest takes against the predictions of some of the people closest to the game. GMs correctly predicted last season’s champion, MVP and Rookie of the Year in the 2023-24 survey.

2024-25 NBA GM SURVEY

Every NBA team's General Manager answered 50 questions about key topics before the season tips off.

Check out all the results https://t.co/8MvXpwZiRY pic.twitter.com/HzQoYPZiMd

— NBA (@NBA) October 8, 2024

This year they again have the Boston Celtics winning it all, though by a more overwhelming percentage of votes after Boston tied with the Denver Nuggets at 33% last year. This time around, 87% of GMs think the Celtics are winning it all. That’s not a surprise, as the reigning champs are big favorites to win the title at sportsbooks too (+325 at BetMGM).

One prediction that is a bit surprising, though, is who the GMs have winning Rookie of the Year. More specifically, the percentage of GMs who picked him. It was No. 3 overall pick, of the Houston Rockets, Reed Sheppard, who received 50% of the vote.

Now, you may be wondering, why is that a surprise? Sheppard was a high pick. He was always going to be in the mix. Even BetMGM has him as the second favorite to win the award at +600 odds. And all that is true. But after a draft where no one stood out as the clear top prospect the way Victor Wembanyama did last year, I would have assumed there to be less of a consensus for Rookie of the Year.

Instead, GMs seem awfully confident about this one. Sheppard received the same amount of votes as Wembanyama did in the last survey.

In hindsight, is it ridiculous that half the league’s GMs didn’t pick Wembanyama? Absolutely. Especially considering Rookie of the Year runner-up Chet Holmgren wasn’t the second most-voted player. It was Scoot Henderson. But it’s nonetheless surprising just as many GMs picked Sheppard in a more crowded field. And I wouldn’t bet on them being right.

Sheppard is just the fifth player over the last 10 years to receive at least half the votes, and of the previous players, only Wembanyama and Paolo Banchero went on to win.

Betting favorite Zach Edey (+500) received the second most votes at 30%, followed by Stephon Castle at 13%. Ron Holland II and Alex Sarr also received votes. Interestingly, No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher didn’t receive any.

Interview: Rookie Jared McCain is bringing the joy of TikTok to the 76ers

The biggest WNBA Finals storylines

With the WNBA Finals matchup set between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx, FTW’s Meghan Hall compiled some of the most intriguing storylines to look forward to in the series.

Among them is the obvious elephant in the room, which is New York’s lack of a championship despite having five previous trips to the finals. That includes last year’s loss to the Las Vegas Aces, which is surely fueling this year’s title push. But can they finish the job?

“It’s the elephant in the room, probably something New York Liberty fans don’t want to discuss. But New York is 0-5 all-time in the Finals. That includes a trip where many on the current roster watched the Las Vegas Aces win a championship last season on the team’s home floor.

The Liberty are under much more scrutiny to win this year than the Lynx, who already have four titles. Jonquel Jones came to New York to win her first championship. Additionally, Breanna Stewart winning another ring would firmly skyrocket her into the conversation as one of the greatest basketball players ― college or WNBA ― to ever suit up. Truthfully, a team with this much talent not winning a title would be a massive disappointment.”

The Liberty are big favorites to win the series. It would absolutely be a massive disappointment if they came away empty-handed this time around.

Related: 2024 WNBA Finals odds, predictions

Shootaround

— From The Morning Win: Napheesa Collier is kicking in the door for the Minnesota Lynx

— Friday’s preseason game in Orlando between the Pelicans and Magic was canceled due to Hurricane Milton

— LeBron James revealed in Netflix’s Starting 5 how much he hated his minutes restriction

— More LeBron: He’s apparently not happy about having to play a preseason game in Milwaukee

That’s all for today, folks. You got four preseason games tonight to keep you busy until next time.