National Basketball Association

Overwhelming majority of NBA GMs would not pick LeBron to start a new team

Published Oct. 18, 2016 6:01 p.m. ET

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LeBron James ended Cleveland's championship drought this past summer, winning his third NBA title and third Finals MVP as well.

And while general managers around the NBA acknowledge the King's reign, only 17 percent would pick him first if they were starting a new team.

That's almost certainly because LeBron will be 32 in December. The player who got the most votes, Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns, is just 20. He got 48 percent of the vote, while Kevin Durant, who's 28 and has not yet won a title, got 21 percent.

So most GMs would be willing to bet on umpteen years of KAT, or fewer of KD, than whatever LeBron has left. Which is interesting because ...

● LeBron was voted the favorite to win the MVP — which would be his fifth (47 percent).

● LeBron was voted the player who forces the most adjustments by coaches (75 percent).

● LeBron was voted the top player in the NBA at small forward (ahead of KD) and second-best at power forward.

● LeBron was voted the NBA's best leader, most versatile player and the player with the best basketball IQ.

● The Cavs and Warriors were voted championship favorites by an overwhelming 97 percent of GMs (However, only 31 percent picked the Cavs to win that Finals matchup).

Stephen Curry, who's 28, was the overwhelming favorite to take a shot with the game on the line, with LeBron a distant second.

Towns won Rookie of the Year last season, averaging 18.3 points and 10.5 rebounds on 54.3 percent shooting, and Minnesota was picked to be the most improved team next season.

However, a cautionary note: Last year, the player whom 86 percent of GMs picked to build a team around: Anthony Davis.

See the full results of the GM poll.

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