The Results of the NBA’s Annual GM Survey were unveiled on Thursday. A total of 49 questions were asked to NBA General Managers about the 2025-2026 season. One of the questions made it pretty clear that the general managers expect a less successful season for the Timberwolves compared to the last two. After back-to-back appearances in the conference finals, only one GM seems to believe they’ll get there for a third straight year.
According to GM research, the Timberwolves are the fourth-best Western Conference team
The GM survey required general managers to rank the teams in each conference. They were asked to name their top four teams in both the East and West. It seems like only one believes the Timberwolves will reach the conference finals again.
They did not receive a first-place vote, but received 3% of the second-place vote, 23% of the third-place vote, and 30% of the fourth-place vote. The points were distributed as four for a first place vote, three for second, two for third and one for fourth. Minnesota’s point total was the fourth highest in the Western Conference.
Last season the GMs got it right with the Western Conference, at least the top two. The Thunder were first in the voting, while the Timberwolves came in second. Of course, OKC defeated Minnesota in five games in the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
Perhaps the general managers view the Timberwolves’ point guard situation as a weakness and/or believe the loss of Nickeil Alexander-Walker will cause them to take a step back. That’s why Minnesota could be in the trade market for a leading guard if that position proves to be a concern. From young players like Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark are expected to show improvement to make up for Alexander-Walker’s departure.
Clear favorites in West again
It should come as no surprise that the Thunder once again topped the voting for the West. They received a whopping 87% of the first-place votes and 10% of the second-place votes (apparently there’s a GM who doesn’t consider them one of the top four teams in the conference).
The two other teams ahead of Minnesota are the Nuggets (10% first-place votes) and the Rockets (3%). Denver still has three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and has retooled their roster to give it extra depth (with Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Jonas Valanciunas, Tim Hardaway Jr.). Houston traded for an all-time great player in Kevin Durant, although they also lost Fred VanVleet to a season-ending injury.
Keep in mind that in last year’s GM survey, 97% of them picked the Celtics to win the Eastern Conference. They lost in the second round instead. Perhaps the Timberwolves can use the research as additional fuel to perform better than expected. Their regular season starts in 11 days (October 22) when they hit the road to take on the Trail Blazers.
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