Summer Forecast: Golden State emerges as 2016-17 title favorite

ByABC News
August 9, 2016, 9:20 AM

— -- We've unveiled our Summer Forecast picks for the  East and West champions, but who will be the last team standing next June? Will  LeBron James bring another title to Cleveland, or will a reloaded Golden State squad exact revenge? 

We asked our ESPN Forecast panel to predict which team will emerge as NBA champion in 2016-17. Then we totaled up the ballots, with a first-place vote receiving five points, a second-place vote receiving three and a third-place vote receiving one. ( Here's how ESPN Forecast works.)

To participate in the discussion, #ESPNForecast is the Twitter hashtag to use. 

Who'll be the best in the NBA? Read on.

NBA champion projections

1. Golden State Warriors
Proj. record: 67-15
First-place votes: 43
Points: 227

2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Proj. record: 57-25
First-place votes: 4
Points: 135

3. San Antonio Spurs
Proj. record: 57-25
First-place votes: 0
Points: 41

4. LA Clippers
Proj. record: 52-30
First-place votes: 0
Points: 15

5. Boston Celtics
Proj. record: 51-31
First-place votes: 0
Points: 3

T-6. Toronto Raptors
Proj. record: 51-31
First-place votes: 0
Points: 1

T-6. Indiana Pacers
Proj. record: 45-37
First-place votes: 0
Points: 1