Shai Giligeous-Alexander is Proving to be Top-Five Player in 2018 Class
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was taken in the back end of the 2018 NBA draft lottery at No. 11 overall by the LA Clippers. After a season in Los Angeles, SGA was traded to Oklahoma City prior to the 2019-2020 season.
Four years removed from the 2018 lottery, the class has produced its fair share of successful talents as well as players who didn't live up to expectations.
The 2018 lottery brought the NBA the likes of Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Collin Sexton and Deandre Ayton.
Others included were Marvin Bagley III, Mo Bamba and Miles Bridges.
Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 17.1 points per game and shooting 47% from the field in his career. He has played in 215 games, and started 206, in his career with the Clippers and the Thunder.
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Doncic has churned out the quickest results of the 2018 lottery. He has already placed himself among the best players in the NBA. Doncic was the third overall pick in the draft by the Atlanta Hawks but was immediately traded to the Mavericks for Young, the eventual fourth overall pick in the same draft.
Doncic was the Rookie of the Year in 2019 and was tabbed as an All-Star and First Team All-NBA in both 2020 and 2021. In his career Doncic has appeared in 220 games (all starts) while averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.
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Young, an Oklahoma native, has also lit up the NBA since joining the Hawks on draft night. Like Doncic, he has started every game he’s played in during his career. Young was an NBA All-Star in 2020 and in 2019 he was tabbed as a First-Team All-Rookie player.
The sharpshooter is averaging 24.5 points, 8.9 assists and shooting 35.8% from 3-point range in his career.
Both Young and Doncic are crucial pieces to their respective teams and have earned themselves spots in the upper echelon of the whole league.
When looking at bigs, Ayton has also proven to be a huge piece of his team. The No. 1 overall pick to the Suns has come on strong in the past couple of seasons proving his worth. Ayton has played in 202 games in his career while posting marks of 16.1 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.
Ayton has been making a climb as one of the best big men in the league.
There's also been other lottery picks drafted above SGA that have not panned out as well as teams would’ve hoped.
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Bagley was highly touted coming out of Duke, but hasn’t found consistent success with the Kings. This season Bagley has seen his name surface in trade rumors to various destinations throughout the league.
Bamba, a highly touted big man from Texas, has had a resurgence in his career this season, but overall has struggled to carve out a role for himself with Orlando in previous seasons.
The 2018 draft lottery picks have, for the most part, panned out and impacted their teams early on in their careers. Gilgeous-Alexander has now taken over a leadership role with the Thunder while putting together an impressive individual resume.
With this group's fourth season underway, SGA ranks near the top and well above his drafted position.
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