The top 7 players in the 18th class were ranked last, with No. 1 pick Ayton only ranked last, Doncic second

As we all know, this year's NBA draft is a recognized year of draft picks. In addition to Flag, the son of the natural selection, Harper and others are all hailed as expected to become players of the future All-Star level, so people's expectations for this class of rookies are very high. However, no matter how optimistic the outside world is, the performance of this rookie in the future after entering the league is another matter. After all, there are many parallel products in the history of the league.

If we really want to talk about one of the highest winning rate in recent years, it must be the famous 2018 draft. The quality of this rookie is quite outstanding even in history. Then we will take stock of the seven strongest players among the 2018 rookies, among which the strongest pick, Ayton, can only rank at the bottom, and even Doncic is only ranked second.

7. Ayton (No. 1 pick in the first round)

Average of 16.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his career. As the No. 1 pick in the 2018th class, Ayton's template was once hailed as Admiral David Robinson of that year, but unfortunately, he obviously failed to meet this expectation after entering the league. If he re-arranged the draft, he would definitely not be the No. 1 pick. However, this does not mean that Ayton is a bad player. From his debut to now, he has performed stably in a double-double per game every year. His cake and rebounding are excellent.

When I was still in the Suns, Ayton had proved himself in the playoffs. In the 2021 playoffs, he also successfully helped the team reach the Finals with his average of 15.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. However, due to mentality issues, Ayton was not only traded to the Trail Blazers, but now he has parted ways with this team and chose to buy out. Next, he will join a team with the championship level. From this, it can be seen that he is determined to prove himself again.

6. Bridges (No. 10th pick in the first round)

Average of 14.7 points, 4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in his career, now he is undoubtedly the strongest 3D among the 2018 rookies. His defense is particularly outstanding, and he was once selected for the best defensive team. Later, Bridges also developed a certain potential for ball holding, which greatly increased his upper limit on the court. Although he could not become an All-Star player, his ability to play ball with ball off will undoubtedly make his offense more diverse.

Because of this, the Knicks spent a lot of money to exchange for Bridges last year. In his first year of joining the new team, he helped the Knicks reach the division final again after 25 years. Next season, due to the injury of the Celtics and Pacers star players, the competitiveness of the East will further decline, so this is another good opportunity for the Knicks and Bridges. Overall, they still have great hope of rushing out of the East next year.

5. Jaren Jackson Jr. (No. 4 pick in the first round)

Average of 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal, 1.9 blocks in his career. When Jaren Jackson Jr. first participated in the draft, his selling point was his strong mobility and excellent frame protection ability, plus the high upper limit on the offensive end, he had the potential to develop ball-holding skills and shooting. It seems that the scouts are not mistaken. Jaren Jr. has basically fulfilled these characteristics after entering the league. His current offense has improved a lot compared to when he first debuted. This season, he can average 22.2 points per game and 2 three-pointers per game.

However, the shortcomings of the player Jaren Jr. are also very obvious, especially the problems of rebounding and foul control have not improved at all. In addition, in high-end games, Jaren Jr. Jr.'s performance has always failed to meet expectations. His average of only 15.7 points in his playoff career and his shooting percentage is only 39.6%. However, considering that Jerry Jr.'s basic defensive end and he is still showing a trend of progress, the Grizzlies still choose to believe him and will most likely give him a maximum salary later.

4. Trae Young (first round 5 pick)

Average of 25.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 1 steal in his career. When he first entered the NBA, Trae Young's playing characteristics attracted a lot of attention because he always makes some unreasonable shots, and his dribbling, breakthroughs, and passing on the court are also very spiritual. In the second year of his career, Trae Young's data had soared to an average of 29.6 points and 9.3 assists per game, which also made him even more optimistic.

Later, Trae Young was indeed selected into the best team and led the team to the division finals. However, since 2022, his competitive state has declined. Trae Young averaged 24.2 points and 11.6 assists per game this season, but his main attack level is still quite worrying. His shooting percentage this season was 41.1% and his scoring is becoming increasingly unstable. In addition, the defensive end is his biggest shortcoming, so the effect of the Hawks building a team around him is not ideal.

3. Brunson (No. 3 pick in the second round)

Average of 18.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5 assists in his career

Because it was a second round pick, Brunson obviously did not receive much attention at the beginning, and even the Mavericks himself could not think of the great potential he contained. Later, after Kidd became the head coach of the Mavericks, Brunson got more opportunities, so he was able to average 20+ games in the 2022 playoffs and helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals.

After playing his net worth, Brunson signed a contract of over 100 million with the Knicks. He has been making continuous progress in recent years. He has been selected into the All-Star and Best Team many times and has become one of the best defenders in the current service. Under the leadership of Brunson, the Knicks also scored in the Eastern Conference Finals this year, and their championship situation has improved in the future..

2. Doncic (No. 3 pick in the first round)

Average of 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists and 1.2 steals in his career

At the beginning of the draft, Doncic was hailed as one of the best players in the 2018 class. His performance did not disappoint. He won the Best Rookie in the first year and was selected for the First Team the next year. Later, Doncic has been one of the strong contenders of MVP for many years. With his help, the Mavericks quickly completed the reconstruction and successfully reached the finals in 2024.

However, just when the outside world thought that the Mavericks were going to continue to compete for the championship around Doncic, they suddenly traded the latter to the Lakers, which is also one of the most surprising deals in NBA history. Considering that Doncic is only 26 years old and his popularity and strength are a perfect match for the Lakers, there is no suspense for the latter to renew his contract with him for a maximum salary.

1. Alexander (No. 11 pick in the first round)

Average of 24.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals in his career, Alexander, who played for the Clippers in the rookie season. Although he performed well that year, no one would compare him with Doncic, even Trae Young and Ayton at that time. However, being traded to the Thunder in 2019 completely changed his career. Here, Alexander got better room for play, and his progress speed also soared. Not long after, he became a MVP-level star.

Alexander finally got his wish this season. Not only did he lead the team to a team's best record of 68 wins, he also won the scoring champion + MVP. In the playoffs, Alexander led the Thunder all the way to the end and won the championship. At the same time, he also won the MVP+FMVP of the Western Conference Finals. In this way, he undoubtedly became the player with the greatest gains this season, and he is still very young. He is still expected to continue to lead the Thunder to compete for the championship in the future.