Annual NBA GM survey has high praise for Anthony Edwards, other Wolves

The NBA has released its annual survey of the league's general managers, complete with almost 50 questions ahead of the 2025-26 season. The results are pretty favorable to the Timberwolves.

Edwards cleans up as league's best SG

For the second consecutive year, Anthony Edwards was voted by the GMs as the NBA's best shooting guard. But last year, Edwards received 33 percent of the votes, not far above Devin Booker at 23 percent. This time? Ant got a whopping 70 percent of the vote, showing that he's overwhelmingly viewed as the league's best 2 guard. Donovan Mitchell was a distant second at 13 despite being named first team All-NBA over Edwards last season.

Edwards was one of a few players listed as "also receiving votes" for who the GMs believe will MVP this season (the top four in voting were Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Victor Wembanyama). He was also voted as the second "most athletic" player in the league, behind Houston's Amen Thompson.

Nori gets some love

Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori was chosen as the best assistant coach in the NBA, receiving 25 percent of votes. The Wolves love Nori and have been fortunate to not lose him to a head coaching vacancy yet, though that remains a possibility in the future.

Finch does too

Wolves head coach Chris Finch didn't outright win any of the coaching questions, but he was tied for second at 10 percent among coaches who run the best offense, according to the GMs. Rick Carlisle easily won that one. Finch also received at least one vote for "Which head coach makes the best in-game adjustments?" and "Which head coach has the best defensive schemes?"

Rudy among top defenders, Jaden snubbed

Wembanyama claimed an absurd 80 percent of the vote for the league's best defender, while Rudy Gobert tied with Evan Mobley in second place. Gobert also finished a distant second behind Wembanyama in voting on the league's best interior defender. No votes went to Jaden McDaniels for overall defense, perimeter defense, or defensive versatility, which is slightly surprising (and perhaps some bulletin board material for McDaniels).

The Wolves and Magic tied for second in voting on the league's best defensive teams, a section that was easily won by the Thunder (and for good reason).

A draft steal?

Timberwolves rookie center Joan Beringer, the No. 17 overall pick, tied for fourth in voting on the biggest steal of this year's draft. It's unclear how much Beringer — who turns 19 next month — will play as a rookie, but he looked impressive in Summer League. Last year, Terrence Shannon Jr. was among the top selections in this category, and he looks primed for a breakout second season.

A future coach?

Wolves point guard Mike Conley, who is perhaps heading into his final NBA season, tied for second behind Chris Paul as the GMs' pick for the player who will make the best head coach someday. If Conley wants to pursue a coaching career, he certainly has the basketball intelligence and people skills to make it happen.

4th in West

The Wolves didn't receive any votes to win the Western Conference this season, as 87 percent of GMs picked the Thunder to repeat as conference champs. The Wolves did finish fourth in the West in the GMs' picks, behind the Thunder, Nuggets, and Rockets.