Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Brooklyn Nets were overwhelmingly selected as the favorite to win the 2022 NBA championship in the annual survey of the league's general managers, and the GMs picked Nets superstar Kevin Durant as their top choice to win the Most Valuable Player Award.

John Schuhmann of NBA.com provided full results from the poll ahead of the 2021-22 season, which begins with the Milwaukee Bucks as the defending champs.

Here are the general managers' predictions for the NBA title:

1. Nets (72 percent)
2. Los Angeles Lakers (17 percent)
3. Bucks (10 percent)

And the MVP Award:

1. Durant (37 percent)
2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks (33 percent)
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (13 percent)
   
4. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (7 percent)
   
5. James Harden, Nets (7 percent)
6. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors (3 percent)

The GMs widely expect a star-studded Nets vs. Lakers matchup in the Finals, with 83 percent ranking Brooklyn as the top team in the East and 80 percent placing L.A. atop the West.

They gave Doncic (43 percent) a slight edge over Antetokounmpo (40 percent) as the best player to start a franchise with from scratch.

Here were the choices for the best player at each position right now:

• PG: Curry
• SG: Harden
• SF: Durant
• PF: Antetokounmpo
• C: Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)

The general managers were torn between the Houston Rockets' Jalen Green (47 percent) and Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham (40 percent) in the Rookie of the Year race. There was nothing close to a consensus about which player from the 2021 class will be the best in five years, with the Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley (33 percent) garnering the most support.

They felt the Miami Heat (47 percent) put together the best offseason, highlighted by a sign-and-trade deal for longtime Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry. That trade was chosen as the move most likely to make the biggest impact by 77 percent of voters.

Let's check out some of the top vote-getters in other categories:

• Best International Player: Antetokounmpo
• Best Defensive Player: Antetokounmpo
• Best Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra (Heat)
• Player Who Will Make Best Coach: Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns)
• Most Fun Team To Watch: Nets
• Best Young Core: Atlanta Hawks
• Highest Basketball IQ: LeBron James (Lakers)
• Best Shooter: Curry
• Choice To Take Game-Winning Shot: Durant

Last season, the general managers incorrectly predicted the Lakers to win a second straight championship, though they did vote the Bucks as the top team in the East.

Jokic, who was voted the 2020-21 NBA MVP, only received 4 percent of the vote in last year's GM survey before his dominant campaign leading the Denver frontcourt.   

Giannis Antetokounmpo is atop the NBA world as the reigning NBA Finals MVP, but he wants more.

"Are we satisfied? I'm not satisfied. I'm not even close to being satisfied," Antetokounmpo told reporters Monday. "That's the tone we got to set as a team. As the leader of this team, that's the tone I'm going to set. We understand that teams are coming for us, but we're going to be ready."

He said the title doesn't change his goal heading into the 2021-22 campaign:

Right now what I want is to get better. I don't care about trophies. I don't care about the MVPs. I don't care about Defensive Player of the Years. All those things, I don't care. I care about getting better because if I do that more things are coming.

That's what I've done my whole career and that's how I am in this position. So, there's no weight off my shoulder, I feel the same weight. I enjoy, obviously, that we're the champions, but the weight is the same. Get better.

If he gets better, the rest of the league is officially on notice.

After all, the 26-year-old is already a two-time MVP, five-time All-NBA selection, four-time All-Defensive selection, one-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time All-Star. There are few players in NBA history as decorated as he is, and his dominance was on full display with the championship hanging in the balance last season.

He finished with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks while shooting 16-of-25 from the field and 17-of-19 from the free-throw line during Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns.

It was a closeout game for the history books, and he joined Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in league history with an MVP, Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.

That is quite the company to keep, although both of those players won multiple championships during their legendary careers.

No wonder Antetokounmpo isn't satisfied with just one.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo said Friday on Greek television channel Cosmote TV that he is still hurting from the knee injury he suffered during the 2020-21 postseason. 

"If you work hard, you don't drink, don't smoke, do what you have to for eight, nine years, you can be ready for a misfortune. I shouldn't have played in Game 1 of the NBA Finals," he said (h/t Eurohoops). "I was in a lot of pain. I'm still hurting. But I'll be OK."

That Antetokounmpo played injured through the NBA Finals adds to his legendary performance. He averaged 35.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals per game and won the Finals MVP award.

His 50 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and two assists in Game 6 to clinch the championship was one of the great postseason performances in NBA history given the stakes and the stage.

At age 26, the Greek Freak is an NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, two-time regular-season MVP, five-time All-Star, three-time first-team All-NBA selection, three-time first-team All-Defensive selection, the 2016-17 Most Improved Player and the 2019-20 Defensive Player of the Year. 

Just don't remind Giannis about his accolades—he doesn't want to grow complacent. 

"I can't be fake. I am Giannis. But calling me MVP, calling me champ, calling me the best player in the world, is something that might hold me back," he told Cosmote TV. "And I don't want anything holding me back. I want to look forward and be better."

So if Antetokounmpo isn't the best player in the world, who is? He listed Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis as players worthy of the label before settling on King James as the wearer of the crown.

“I like being a hunter," he added. "I am not the best player in the world. I am telling you, I am not!" 

Giannis Antetokounmpo may be coming off an all-time performance to win an NBA championship, but he still has work to do to catch the league's best players.

At least in his eyes.

That is what the Milwaukee Bucks star said during an interview with the Greek television channel COSMOTE TV (h/t Harris Stavrou of Sport24): "I like being a hunter. I am not the best player in the world. I am telling you, I am not! KD, LeBron, Kawhi, Luka, Curry, AD might be. I am not. I am still hunting the All-Time Greats. LeBron is still the best player in the world."

There is no arguing that LeBron James has a better resume than Antetokounmpo. In fact, fans can count on one hand the list of players who arguably have a better all-time resume than James.

Yet the King will turn 37 years old this season and just lost in the first round of the playoffs with the Los Angeles Lakers. Antetokounmpo steamrolled his way to his first title, is just 26 years old and proved to be unguardable while leading the Bucks in the biggest moments.

The two-time MVP finished with 50 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks while shooting 16-of-25 from the field and 17-of-19 from the free-throw line in Milwaukee's closeout win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

If that version of Antetokounmpo shows up throughout the season, it will be difficult to crown anyone else as the best player.

It shouldn't come as any surprise to hear that Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is one of the highest-rated players in the upcoming NBA 2K22 game from developer Visual Concepts. 

Doncic is the game's cover star on its base edition when it launches Friday, an honor well earned after an epic start to his career that happens to see him rated among the best of the best on the digital courts. 

As always, player ratings are a massive point of hype during the run up to each annual installment's release. Here's a look at the top-rated players in this year's game: 

• LeBron James: 96
• Kevin Durant: 96
• Stephen Curry: 96
• Giannis Antetokounmpo: 96
• Joel Embiid: 95
• Kawhi Leonard: 95
• Nikola Jokic: 95
• Luka Doncic: 94
• James Harden: 94
• Damian Lillard: 94
• Jayson Tatum: 90

Note that 2K is once again going for a more grounded approach to player ratings. There's no "99 Club" like the one found in Madden, and there certainly isn't a player flirting with triple digits. 

As of now, just four players boast a 96 rating. Doncic checks in just two points lower as one of three names at a 94, and Jayson Tatum's 90 is the last before things drop off into the 80s. 

Granted, ratings will swing dramatically once the season starts. Some will climb, some will fall. For now, we're left debating on whether a reigning MVP like Nikola Jokic—the first center to win the award since Shaquille O'Neal two decades ago—should be the highest-rated player in the game. 

Maybe the biggest other point of contention right now is that four-point gap between Tatum and Damian Lillard.

Even Tatum himself wasn't too thrilled: 

There are layers to any conversation about player ratings, though. It's hard to even sort them by positions anymore. Jokic and Embiid are technically the highest-rated centers of course. But somebody like LeBron James technically has a classification as a point guard and forward. 

They all impact the digital game differently, too. Stephen Curry might be the same 96 overall as Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the way they take over games is totally different. One likes range, the other is a slasher. 

As an aside, 2K Sports also issued the top-rated rookies, which is a more cut-and-dry affair without major surprises: 

The one thing to keep in mind about any ratings conversation these days is that...it's not as important as it used to be. Curry is a 96, sure, but his three-point rating is a 99, with no other player in the league coming within four points. Zion Williamson doesn't appear on the 90-plus overall list, but he's got a league-best 97 dunk rating. 

The game has also made efforts to better individualize each player. Stars have signature moves and overall feels that make them unique when using them on the court. It's aimed at getting even closer to the perfect simulation, but the other side effect is it ends up negating some of the impact of overall ratings. Players won't necessarily care if Zion isn't a 90-plus if he's bullying everyone in the paint unlike anything else in the game. 

This is something heavily reflected in one of this year's noteworthy biggest upgrades to gameplay: The transition of signature dribble moves from pre-canned animations to being controlled directly by the player.

A developer diary explained: 

"KD's big hesi crosses, Harden's around/thru the leg moves, Steph's quick machine gun crosses, and Luka's methodical rock back and forth dribbles are all now under the gamer's direct control rather than a preset movie. The speed stick that we introduced on new gen last year also returns. So flicking the stick quickly results in quicker dribbles while slower flicks give you more rhythmic ones. There are around 50 unique signature size-up packages to choose from, each with its own distinct advantages."

Still, overall ratings are the most front-facing representation of how players stack up in the latest release before it actually goes live. It's also fun to debate whether the ratings got it right or made a big omission. 

As always, these are launch ratings—effectively placeholders until the season begins and things start changing. The game is released Friday, when players can get their hands on the freshly-rated players and revamped gameplay tweaks for themselves.