All 2026 NBA anonymous player poll results: Who’s most overrated? MVP? Title winner?

The players got it right on who was the NBA MVP among them — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Same with the top defensive player — Victor Wembanyama.

How else did NBA players hit the nail on the head in The Athletic’s annual anonymous survey during this tumultuous regular season, one dominated by headlines of federal gambling charges, an investigation into potential salary-cap circumvention by the Clippers and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s next team? Here is one last look at the full poll, after the release of the results over the previous month.

From late February through the start of April, our writers fanned out across North America and asked the league’s players a wide array of questions on topics ranging from individual awards to player movement to league issues. Our writers surveyed 161 players, a record high for this annual project and a number that equates to approximately one-third of the league’s workforce.

As always, we granted the players anonymity to give them the freedom to answer honestly, without fear of reprisals from opponents, teammates or fans. For the sake of transparency and context, we’ll tell you how many people responded to each topic.

Who should be the 2026 MVP?

When San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama sparked a robust MVP debate in late March, advocating for himself in the kind of direct and detailed way that forced voters and oddsmakers alike to reassess the situation, it was fair to wonder if it might be enough to bump Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from his frontrunner spot.

Or … perhaps not.

The players predicted that the silky smooth Thunder star would win his second straight Michael Jordan Trophy, and that’s exactly what happened.

• Full story: Who is this season’s MVP? SGA, Jokić or Dončić?

Which team, other than your own, will win the title this year?

The Thunder are considered the team to beat, and for good reason. They own the league’s best regular-season record, going 64-18, they’re postseason-proven, and as the first installment in our player poll series indicated, they boast the Most Valuable Player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on their roster.

“They’re the most dominant team,” a player who voted for the Thunder told us.

• Full story: Who’ll win 2026 NBA Finals: Thunder, Spurs or Celtics?

Who is the league’s best defensive player?

Wembanyama led the San Antonio Spurs to the league’s second-best record, 62-20, and he led the league in blocks, with 3.1 per game. Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren finished second among qualifiers in blocks, and Holmgren “only” averaged 1.9 blocks per game.

“He’s 7-6!” said one of the players who voted for Wembanyama, who is officially listed at 7 feet 4. “He just has the ability to cover up so many mistakes, including ones that he’ll make. Just his ability to erase mistakes is extremely impressive where guys drive in the paint and see him and turn around and dribble out. Like, no one does that in the NBA.

• Full story: Who’s NBA’s most overrated player? Underrated? Best coach?

What team will Giannis be on to begin the 2026-27 season?

Players are in tune with the rumor mill, too, you know? So while it’s no secret that the media and fans have been fixated on Antetokounmpo’s uncertain future for quite some time now, it was interesting to learn that almost half of the players who answered this one (69 of 151) see him staying put in Milwaukee.

It’s worth noting that these answers were procured before the latest escalation. Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam, who has vowed to trade Antetokounmpo if he doesn’t commit to the long-term extension he is eligible for on Oct. 1, said last week that he expects clarity on Antetokounmpo’s situation before the June 23 draft.

• Full story: Where will Giannis play next season? Most passionate fans?

Who is the most underrated player?

One of the players who voted for Derrick White said: “Everyone is trying to say Jaylen Brown is an MVP candidate. They’re wrong. White has actually been the biggest reason they’re so good this season. He does everything — offense, defense, leadership — for them.”

Jalen Johnson was one of the league’s breakout players this season, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. He avoided major injuries to play in 72 games, and his production improved, averaging career bests of 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, with a career-high 13 triple-doubles. Notably, he did not receive a single “Underrated” vote last season, which may be explained by playing in only 36 games that year due to injuries.

• Full story: Who’s NBA’s most overrated player? Underrated? Best coach?

Who is the most overrated player?

Alperen Şengün earned his second All-Star nod this season and helped lead the Houston Rockets to the fifth seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. His stats of 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game and four triple-doubles are impressive.

Why all the skepticism from his peers?

That’s a question that we cannot fully answer, but perhaps this comment from one of the players who voted for him sheds some light on things: “He’s crying every play. He’s talented, but, dude, just play hard.”

• Full story: Who’s NBA’s most overrated player? Underrated? Best coach?

Which current coach, aside from your own, do you find the most impressive?

Because Jayson Tatum was expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season as he recovered from the Achilles tendon injury he suffered during the 2025 playoffs, and because the Celtics had traded away floor-spacing big man Kristaps Porziņģis, the Celtics entered October expected to tumble down the standings. NBA.com’s annual GM Survey had league general managers predicting that Boston would finish eighth in the East.

However, Boston defied all of those expectations, finishing second in the East with a 56-26 record. The Celtics also ranked second in offense and fourth in defense.

One respondent said he voted for Joe Mazzulla because of “his tenacity and the way that he fires his group up, the intensity that he coaches with.”

• Full story: Who’s NBA’s most overrated player? Underrated? Best coach?

Which current coach, aside from your own, do you find the least impressive?

The biggest takeaway from these results is that tanking can have a negative downstream effect on the reputations of those teams’ coaches. Those coaches get blamed for what, under any typical situation, would be considered baffling substitution patterns or, perhaps, a lack of organization, particularly on the defensive end.

Brian Keefe is the Washington Wizards’ coach, and his team finished the season with the league’s worst record, 17-65, with losses in 26 of their last 27 games.

“I don’t even know who’s coaching the Wizards, but whoever coaches the Wizards,” one respondent said.

• Full story: Who’s NBA’s most overrated player? Underrated? Best coach?

If you were commissioner for a day, with broad power to push through any change, what change would you make to the league?

NBA players want to play less, and less often, during the week, with more opportunities to bludgeon their opponents on defense and more teams to play against.

Or something like that.

“The easy answer is less games, but I would say that’s a half-answer because I don’t know how we make the money up,” said a player who was willing to address the obvious problem created by reducing the number of regular-season games.

• Full story: Players see no integrity problem, despite gambling, tanking issues

Is the integrity of the game in danger?

An informal analysis of the answers to this question came down to the players collectively saying, “No, but…”

“I don’t think we have an integrity issue,” one player said. “It’s almost like it’s the beginning of possible issues that could happen because of gambling. It’s getting more negative attention that could affect the purity of the game.

“The purists, we just want to play.”

To be clear, the NBA didn’t legalize gambling — the U.S. Supreme Court did, essentially, by ruling that it was up to each state to allow (or not) sports betting within its borders. Thirty-nine states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have taken the high court up on its offer.

• Full story: Players see no integrity problem, despite gambling, tanking issues

How much of a problem is tanking?

It’s an issue on every player’s radar because, no matter which team he plays for, he is going to play in games where one franchise would prefer to lose for the betterment of its future.

In casual conversation among fans and reporters, “teams” are accused of tanking. But the players on the court could not care less about future draft positions. They’re trying to win or play well enough to earn a larger contract or new opportunity with a different team — the kind of effort that can lead to winning.

“Tanking” is about making sure a team’s best players are simply not available to help them win.

“I’m salty on this one, I think the league needs to do something about it,” one player said.

• Full story: Players see no integrity problem, despite gambling, tanking issues

What’s the first team on your no-trade list?

So … it turns out LeBron James’ opinion wasn’t an outlier after all.

Right around the time our group of reporters was wrapping up its interviews, the Lakers star made headlines when he shared his not-so-flattering view of Memphis on a podcast. And while he had unflattering things to say about Milwaukee and Cleveland (which is near his hometown of Akron, Ohio, of course) as well, it was James’ choice to suggest that the Grizzlies move to Nashville, Tenn., that really riled up the Memphians. And understandably so.

The proof is in the polling, though.

When players were asked which team would be at the top of their “no-trade” list, Memphis received more than three times as many votes as the second-place Washington Wizards.

• Full story: Where will Giannis play next season? Most passionate fans?

Would you visit the White House if your team won the title?

President Donald J. Trump is in his sixth year in office, and, to date, no NBA champion has visited the White House during either of his administrations.

Based on the results of The Athletic’s 2026 anonymous player poll, the league’s players are split on visiting the White House generally, with a slight majority of respondents saying they would want to accept an offer to appear at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. if their team wins it all.

• Full story: Would you visit the White House if your team won the title?

Which arena has the most passionate fans?

If there were a direct correlation between organizational success and fan passion, then it would come as no surprise that the Celtics, who have an NBA-best 18 titles in their storied history, topped this list with their TD Garden experience.

But consider this much as a counter to that logic: The Lakers, their longtime rivals who are second in league history with 17 titles and also boast a massive worldwide fanbase, received just two votes out of 161 for Crypto.com Arena. That speaks volumes about the vast divide in the player experience when they compete in those two buildings.

• Full story: Where will Giannis play next season? Most passionate fans?

Which arena has the most obnoxious fans?

There’s a fine line between fans being deemed passionate vs. obnoxious, and the Celtics’ loyalists are apparently walking it quite well. The former race wasn’t nearly as close as the latter, though, with the TD Garden crowd winning this one going away.

As for the Philly fans being pegged as the over-the-top type, it’s hard to blame them for taking out all these decades of frustration on visiting teams. The Sixers haven’t won a title since 1983, and haven’t been to a Finals since the Allen Iverson-led 2000-01 team fell in five games to the Shaq-Kobe Lakers. That was their last conference finals appearance, too. More recently, they’ve now lost in the second round in six of the past nine seasons.

• Full story: Where will Giannis play next season? Most passionate fans?

What do the smartest teams spend money on, beyond player contracts?