Even though the Boston Celtics have assembled a super-powered roster that just won a title last season and is on track to potentially win another one in 2024-25, their front office is currently viewed as the second-best in the NBA by league executives.

In a poll of 40 executives around the NBA conducted by The Athletic's Sam Amick, John Hollinger and Mike Vorkunov, the Oklahoma City Thunder front office was voted as the league's best with 354 total points.

The Celtics finished second with 250 points, followed by the Miami Heat with 114 points.

The Thunder's victory in the poll is hardly shocking, nor is the fact they did it in overwhelming fashion. They appeared on 39 of 40 ballots and received 29 first-place votes. The Celtics (nine) and Heat (seven) were the only other teams that garnered at least five first-place votes.

Oklahoma City has assembled arguably the deepest roster of talent in the NBA. That group, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, currently has the best record in the Western Conference this season (19-5) after finishing as the No. 1 seed in 2023-24.

The Thunder are racking up wins while also having the youngest roster in the NBA. On top of the on-court success they are already having, they still own up to 16 future first-round draft picks between 2025 and 2031.

There is no deal that Thunder general manager Sam Presti couldn't make if he wanted to between the high-ceiling players already on the roster and draft picks he can include in a trade.

The Celtics don't have as much future wiggle room as the Thunder, but their current roster is as good as anyone's in the NBA. They have two All-NBA-caliber players in their prime in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis are better than role players, but not quite superstars. Payton Pritchard is a three-point wizard.

No team in the NBA is as dangerous as the Celtics because of the volume of three-pointers they take and the rate at which they make them.

The Heat are still in the top three because of their well-deserved reputation. Even as injuries have hindered their roster talent in recent years, they make the playoffs every year. They had a run of three Eastern Conference Finals appearances in four seasons from 2019-20 to 2022-23, including two trips to the NBA Finals during that span.

Miami has only had losing records three times in 21 seasons from 2003-04 to 2023-24. The club has 17 playoff appearances during that span, with three wins in seven trips to the Finals.

The Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves were the only other teams that received at least one first-place vote in the poll.