In the past few years, it is only 18 years to be called the draft year, although the 21st is also known as the draft year, but they are still young and have not yet fully realized their talents, and the players of the 18th class have been working in the league for 4 years, they have fully adapted to the rhythm of the league and found their own way of playing, this year's players michael Porter with 14 picks and Alexander with 11 picks have received 5 years and 172 million maximum salary contracts.
Players outside the top ten picks have been able to get the top salary, so what about the top five picks? What heights have they reached so far? Today we will take a look at the top five of the 18th draft, whether they have cashed in their talents, and whether they have reached the height of the same period compared with their templates. Without further ado, with these questions, let's get down to business.
Ayton, the performance is remarkable
Five-star high school student, ranked third in the United States, can average 20.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocks in college, and also has a 34.3% three-point shooting rate, with excellent performance, Ayton became the champion of the year, Ayton's template that year was Admiral Robinson, with a projection distance beyond the three-point line, coupled with stable shooting and excellent low-post offensive skills, he is very much in line with the small-ball era, the Suns signed him with a natural, it is also a matter of course, After all, they already have a great backcourt – Deven Booker.
But after Ayton entered the league, his good three-pointers in college are now completely gone, and now it is more like a pie inside line, this season can average 16.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks, shooting 63.3%, shooting only 22.2% from three-point range, averaging only 0.1 three-pointers per game, because there is no shooting ability, Ayton also delayed getting the maximum salary extension given by the Suns.
For now, Ayton did not meet expectations, from David Robinson he is more than a star and a half, David Robinson in the first four years of his career has won the best defensive player, selected for the All-Star and other honors, although Ayton's defense is also good, but has not yet reached that level, he is now more like a three-boss level player, it can be said that Ayton has not fully cashed in the talent, but talent is always good, just eat cake can play such data, very good.
Bagley, the only player in the top five picks
The nation's first high school student, averaging 20.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 block in college, Bagley's outside projection is better than Ayton's, and the height of an inside player has the speed of a small forward, so scouts also gave him a template that is difficult to surpass - Durant, if the Suns are not hungry for center, Bagley is the champion, but now the Suns are estimated to be lucky, they did not choose this glass man.
Bagley has been plagued by injuries for four years since joining the Kings, and the Kings have not given him a chance, but because of the injury, he has not fully realized his talent, and the team has given up training him this season, after all, three years of training has no effect, and at the trade deadline, the Kings also sent him to the Pistons, the Pistons are still rebuilding, they still have a lot of time to train Bagley, and the Kings now only aim to win and playoffs.
This season's Bagley averaged 9.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game, shooting 46% from the field and 23.8% from three-point range, because of perennial injuries, Bagley did not have much time to complete high-intensity training, and his mid- and long-range shooting ability is not as good as when he was in college.
Tanhua Doncic, a top ten player in the league, is already a superstar in the league
Doncic is different from other young players in the United States, he played in the professional league before entering the league, played for Real Madrid and won the MVP, looked at a great European player, which also made Cuban think of Nowitzki, they were in need of finding a successor to the Novi King, and this template James player became their best choice, because the Lone Ranger only had the No. 5 pick at the time, so they chose to trade upwards, got the Hawks' probe sign, and finally chose Doncic.
Compared to the template Durant, perhaps the template James is a more difficult level, fortunately Doncic did a good job, he almost reached the same james level, this season averaged 27.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9 assists, 1.1 steals, shooting 45% from the field and 33.5% from three-point range, although Doncic did not have James's athletic ability, but his ball dealer and arsenal were good enough, which also made up for the lack of athleticism.
This is only the fourth year of his career, Doncic has entered the MVP discussion, and he has been selected for the best team twice, 3 times selected as an All-Star, and now Doncic is already a player in the league's top ten level, for such players to chase history is their goal, in the past period of time Doncic has cut 40+ performances, he is like James in 2007, one person dragging the whole team forward, hoping that his career can be as perfect as old Zhan.
Fourth overall, Jaren Jackson, talented more than the template, but still needs to improve
Although Jarren Jackson was not as good as Ayton and Bagley in high school, he was also in the top ten in the United States, averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game in college, which seems to be inferior to the other two, but What Jaren Jackson is best at is not personal offense, compared with them, Jaren Jackson is a loss, he is best at defense, college is the best defensive player, because of his outstanding blocking ability, his template is Turner.
After four years of experience, now Jaron Jackson can be said to have reached expectations, although the three-point knife is a bit of a nerve knife, but his defense has been excellent, this season averaged 27.8 minutes per game can get 16.7 points, 6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1 steal 2.2 blocks, shooting rate of only 41.5%, three-point shooting rate of 32%, Jaren Jackson defense is great, but the limited ability to fight makes his offense very inefficient.
However, compared to Turner, Jaron Jackson has a good advantage is his leadership temperament, he can ignite the desire of teammates to win, which many players can not do in their lifetime, and Jalen Jackson Jr. is now undoubtedly the Grizzlies' locker room leader and spiritual pillar, Jaron Jackson may not get the top salary when he renews his contract in the offseason, but a big contract can't run, his ceiling is still very high, and after developing a stable three-pointer, he will be an All-Star level player.
Fifth overall pick Trae Young, NCAA's leading scorer
Trae Young became famous in college, he was the NCAA's leading scorer, he averaged 27.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game in college season, and shot 36% from three-point range, because he mainly relied on three-point shooting, so Trae Young's template was Curry, but for now, I think Trae Young's template is more like Nash than Curry, Trae Young's player has always been controversial because he plays too crazy, but the lad and the emperor, even if he angers you, he will be very calm, the ball quotient is very high!
Trae Young is also a league superstar now, although it does not meet the standards of the league's top ten, but the top twenty is not a big problem, reaching this height in the fourth year of his career than the previous Curry, Nash he became famous earlier, this season Trae Young can average 27.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1 steal per game, shooting 45.6%, three-point shooting rate of 38.3%, although the career has been suppressed by Doncic, but Trae Young has also been selected as a two-time All-Star.
Trae Young's ability to hold the ball is very good, and the threat of holding the ball is also very large, but he is not as terrible as Curry's projection, but the handling of the ball after holding the ball is really excellent, whether it is feeding cake or sudden points, this is very similar to nash in the past, in fact, whether it is with Nashby or Curry, Trae Young is better than them in the same period, but to reach the height of the two predecessors, Trae Young still needs to work hard, after all, these two people are representatives of the late stage.
Speaking of which, what do you want to say about the top five picks of the 18th session? Welcome to leave a message to discuss.