NBA general managers have made the Spurs the favorites to win the championship and Victor Wembanyama the favorite for MVP in the league's annual GM survey. ESPN reported that the survey projects the Spurs to win the title this season, with Wembanyama also taking Defensive Player of the Year. Yahoo Sports' Sean Leahy wrote that the GMs answered 48 questions about the best teams, players and moves around the league, and that Wembanyama dominates the player categories.

CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno framed the result around last season's Finals. The Spurs fell to the Knicks, and per CBS many GMs believe San Antonio can take the next step. CBS also highlighted a second takeaway: league executives are unsure about the 76ers. The feed summaries don't give vote shares, the runners-up in the title question, or what exactly the GMs said about Philadelphia. Only CBS's headline mentions the 76ers, and only ESPN's summary mentions the Defensive Player of the Year result.

The early results haven't matched the survey. San Antonio is 1-3 and fifth in the Southwest. It lost 102-98 at Phoenix on Saturday and 119-109 at Utah on Monday, then beat Phoenix 123-103 at home on Wednesday to snap the skid.

Wembanyama's numbers explain the voters' confidence. Last season he averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.1 blocks in 64 games, with 55 starts, in 29.2 minutes a game. He shot 51.2% from the field and 34.9% from three, and made 1.9 threes a game on 5.5 attempts. His 197 blocks came in just 29.2 minutes per night. Our archive shows him with 42 double-doubles and one triple-double. The 64 games played are a reminder that availability is part of any MVP case. That is my observation from the data, not something the survey is reported to have raised.

The other West contenders have also had uneven starts. The Thunder are 1-3, after a 128-126 loss to Milwaukee and a 113-110 loss at Atlanta before a 114-112 win over Indiana. They play at Houston tonight. Denver is 2-2 after losing 122-110 at the Clippers. Minnesota is 3-2 after a 128-106 home loss to Detroit that followed wins at Miami and at New York. None of those clubs has pulled clear of San Antonio, but with four or five games played, these records say little either way.

The Spurs' next chance to turn the favorite tag into results is Friday, Oct. 16, at home against Sacramento.