ESPN surveyed 18 NBA coaches and executives and asked them about opinions on players and teams, predictions for awards and winners, and tried to forecast the future. We’ve heard from the media on their thoughts, but it’s always fun to see what the people on the other side of the coin are thinking

Jokic voted best NBA player by coaches and execs

The most popular opinion for any question in the entire poll was that Nikola Jokic is the best player in the world. 15 of the 18 people asked agreed with that sentiment and the only other votes were two going to Luka Doncic and one vote for Anthony Edwards

However, despite that overwhelming belief in Jokic, only two of the voters picked Jokic to win his fourth MVP award this season. They clearly understand the award is largely based on narratives and even though Jokic is the best player, he will need to go above and beyond the rest of the field for the voters to give him the award a fourth time in five years.

The voters in this poll also think that Jokic’s prime may be coming to a close. Although 15 of the 18 voters believe he’s the best player currently in the NBA, only one voter picked the Joker to be the best player five years from now. The majority of the voters chose Victor Wembanyama

No voters picked Nuggets to win Western Conference or NBA title

In terms of team success, the 18 voters had very little faith in Denver. Three Western Conference teams received votes to win the conference; 14 picked the Thunder, 2 picked the Mavericks, and 2 picked the Timberwolves. There were no votes for the Nuggets.

The same was the case for the team to win the NBA championship. Five teams received votes, with the Celtics taking 8 and the Thunder getting 7. The Mavs, Bucks, and Wolves all earned one vote.

These polls feel pretty representative of the way the league feels about the Nuggets. Everyone has faith and belief in Jokic and accepts he is the best player alive. But people are much more skeptical of the team around him. If the Nuggets are going to vault back into contention, they’ll be surprising a lot of doubters along the way.