preface
The NBA can have a history of 76 years, and each era can have superstars who shine in the league, which is inseparable from their mature and professional scouting department. Like basketball god Jordan entered the league as a scout, Shark O'Neal was a top pick, and current James was also a top pick. Those that are famous in history are basically high-pick drafts, of course, the NBA has never lacked miracles, and examples like that second-round pick or undrafted counterattack are not absent, but if you don't open the sky, the rookie success rate of high picks is still higher.
Looking back at the past few seasons, the Class of 2018 was clearly the most successful of them, and scouts predicted it would be a big draft year before the draft began. So the attention of the high-pick players of that year is still quite high, and now 5 years have passed since they participated in the draft, and their playing style and positioning have basically been set. Today, let's take a look at how the top five picks of this draft year are developing in the league today.
Fifth pick: Trae Young
Career averages: 25.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1 steal, shooting 43.7% from the field
Since Curry set off the trend of the small-ball era, more and more small guards have been given the opportunity to enter the NBA with excellent projection talent, and Trae Young is not only excellent in projection, but also his organizational ability is the top gear, and Trae Young's idol is two-time MVP Nash. However, Trae Young's ability to have such a high pick at the time was still questioned, and his defense and shooting choices in certain moments became his biggest shortcoming.
In his rookie season, Trae Young responded to doubts about him with an average of 19.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game, and although his offensive efficiency was not as good as Nash's, his single-hand organizational ability immediately helped him become an excellent ball carrier, and the Hawks also established his core position. With the development of time, Trae Young also played better and better, leading the team to the playoffs in the 2020-2021 season, and the Hawks completed the following grams in the first two rounds of the playoffs, and Trae Young reached his first division final in the third season of his career.
Now, Trae Young's individual honors are not much, only 1 All-NBA and 2 All-Star, but he has led the team to the playoffs in 3 of his five seasons in the league. It can be seen that Trae Young's ability to lead the team is still relatively good, and only Doncic has led the team to the playoffs as the boss of the top five picks. Today, Trae Young is clearly one of the best ball-carrying cores in the league, but his flaws are also obvious, so whether he can catch up with his idol in the future is still unknown.
Fourth pick: Jaren Jackson Jr
Career averages: 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, shooting 46.6% from the field
Jaren Jr. was arguably the most low-key pick in the draft that year, but scouts still recognized his talent, and his draft template was considered to be Myersner. Both men are very athletic, and have the ability to open up space on the outside, and even the shortcomings of both are somewhat similar, rebounding and easier to foul. Now, Jaren Jr.'s development in the league over the years has surpassed his template.
In his rookie season, Jaren Jr. averaged 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, which can be said to show his strengths and weaknesses to the fullest, but later after the Grizzlies selected Morant, Jaren Jr. did not have to bear too much offensive pressure. So Jaren Jr. put all his energy into defense, offense to eat cake and shoot three-point shots, around Jaren Jr. Grizzlies to create their own defensive system, this season Jaren Jr. won the first career best defensive player trophy, just look at the regular season Jaren Jr.'s defense is indeed the top player.
After playing for 5 seasons, Jaren Jr. has already won 2 defensive first teams, 2 blocks and 1 DPOY, and his dominance on the defensive end has been revealed by these statistics. And he is only 23 years old, the youngest of the top five picks, and the Grizzlies are now deliberately cultivating Jaren Jr.'s offensive ball handling, and I believe that Jaren Jr. will bring more surprises to fans next season.
Third pick: Luka Doncic
Career averages: 27.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8 assists, shooting 46.6% from the field
As the only player from Europe with the top five picks, Doncic received mixed reviews, with some fans believing that the rules of European basketball and NBA basketball are completely different and that he may not be able to adapt to the fast-paced NBA game. After being drafted, the Hawks immediately traded Doncic for Trae Young and some trade additions, and it turned out that they did choose the wrong one, and while Trae Young is good, Doncic is a player at another level.
Doncic averaged 21.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6 assists per game in his rookie season, and he and Trae Young were still on par at this time, but the gap in individual honors only slowly opened in the second season. Doncic has now played five seasons in the league, and in addition to his rookie season, Doncic has been named to the All-NBA and All-Star teams for every remaining year. Doncic is undoubtedly the better player, and under his leadership, the Mavericks also returned to the playoffs and reached the divisional finals last season.
Now Doncic is not only the best player in the class of 2018, he is now a player in the top five levels of the league, except for Alphabet Brother and Jokic, no player can be said to be able to stabilize him. He took his performance to another level this season, averaging 32.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8 assists per game, and although the team eventually missed the playoffs, Doncic's personal performance is not to be said, and he is confident that he can lead the Lone Ranger back next season.
Second pick: Marvin Bagley
Career average: 13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, shooting 50.6% from the field
Before that draft began, it can also be said that it was an inside year, and 3 of the top five picks were inside. But compared to others, the Kings already had core players like Fox at that time, so Bagley was not the team's focus at first. Coupled with his own injuries, he played just 75 games in his first two seasons, and only 10 of them were starters.
In fact, in his rookie season, Bagley played at least well on the offensive end, averaging 14.9 points per game, but then he went backwards and everyone else seized the opportunity to play famously, only Bagley failed to prove himself. The Kings had to drop him and trade him to the Pistons, and Bagley didn't get any better for a new team, averaging just 9.1 shots per game for the Pistons this season, and it's clear the team didn't see him as a core player at all. Once a top pick, if it doesn't improve in a few seasons, it may be the first player to fade out of the league in the top five picks.
First pick: DeAndre Ayton
Career average: 16.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 59.7% from the field
When Ayton entered the draft that year, he could be said to be the undisputed top pick, and the template that scouts gave him was Admiral David Robinson. It can be seen from the template that the expectations for Ayton are high, after all, Robinson is the cornerstone of the Spurs' team in obtaining Duncan's spirit, and his career has won MVP, championship and other honors. Most people thought Ayton would be the centerpiece of the Suns' team, and his and Booker's combination could even become the "OK combination" of the small-ball era.
In his rookie season, Ayton averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, which can be said to be quite impressive, and although his defensive problems still existed, his potential was visible to the naked eye at the time. However, because of Paul's arrival, the Suns' goal also changed to compete for a championship, so this delayed Ayton's development to a certain extent, after all, the team could no longer give him unlimited ball control to train him. However, the Suns also reached the Finals and became the top team in the West, but Ayton played worse and worse.
Now after another struggling season, the relationship between Ayton and the Suns has also dropped to the freezing point, and he is still poor defensively, and now he is not even in good shape for offense. After the Suns were eliminated, various trade rumors about Ayton also spread on social media, and now changing teams is definitely a good thing for Ayton, with his current form in the championship team can not play at all, he is not ready, if Ayton still plays in the Suns next season, it is likely to continue to decline.