The Boston Celtics are facing enormous expectations entering the 2023-24 NBA season.
After knocking on the door of a title for several seasons -- five conference finals appearances and one trip to the NBA Finals since 2016 -- many people in and outside the league are expecting the C's to take the next step and win Banner 18.
This includes a sizeable portion of the league's 30 general managers. NBA.com's John Schuhmann posted the results of his annual GM survey, which asks every one of these execs a bunch of different questions about teams, specific players and other topics.
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When asked which team will win the title this season, the Celtics received 33 percent of the vote, tied with the defending champion Denver Nuggets for the most. Boston also tied the Milwaukee Bucks for the most votes (23 percent) to the question asking which team had the best offseason.
One of the reasons why so many GMs are bullish on the Celtics is superstar forward Jayson Tatum.
Tatum received the third-most votes (13 percent) on the question of who will win the 2023-24 league MVP. When asked to list the best small forwards in basketball, Tatum received a whopping 47 percent of the vote in first place, well ahead of Kevin Durant in second at 20 percent.
Tatum also received votes in the following categories:
- Best shooting guard
- Which player would you start a franchise with?
If you tally all the votes on the player-specific questions, Tatum received 10 percent of them, which was tied with Luka Doncic for the fifth-most. Giannis Antetokounmpo received the highest percentage of total votes at 19.3 percent.
It's not surprising to see Tatum getting so much respect around the league. He averaged a career-high 30 points per game last season and was selected to the All-NBA first team for the second consecutive campaign. He also was an All-Star starter and set a Game 7 playoff record with 51 points in a win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The last step for Tatum is helping the Celtics win Banner 18. And with the roster the Celtics have constructed over the offseason, they have a really good chance.