Poll: Sixteen NBA GMs would start teams with LeBron James
More than half of the NBA's 30 general managers said in a poll that, in a hypothetical situation with empty rosters, they would pick Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James to start their teams.
The anonymous poll was conducted by USA Today Sports. Of the 27 GMs who responded, 16 chose James, seven chose Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, three chose New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis and one chose San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan.
James, 29, averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists with the Miami Heat last season. The the four-time MVP elected this offseason to join the Cleveland Cavaliers -- with whom he spent his first seven seasons -- on a reported two-year contract.
Durant, 26, won his first MVP last season after posting per-game averages of 32 points and 7.4 rebounds. In a Sports Illustrated article published last April, Durant said he was "tired of being second." SI.com recently ranked James first and Durant second on its list of top 100 players.
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The 21-year-old Davis is entering his third season with the New Orleans Pelicans after averaging 20.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks last season en route to his first All-Star bid, while the 38-year-old Duncan averaged 15.1 points and 9.7 rebounds in helping the San Antonio Spurs win their fifth championship.
- Chris Johnson
