May 7, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) drives to the basket around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the second half of game one of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Evaluating the Best Player from the 2018 NBA Draft

Originally posted on NBA Draft on SI | By Derek Parker | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The 2018 NBA Draft has stealthily turned into one of the best classes in the last handful of years, largely led by its top tier talent.

The careers of the top two picks in Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III haven’t turned out as many thought, but the class has been able to produce some of the league’s best talent.

Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rank near the top players in the world. Jalen Brunson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young, Mikal Bridges and more have carved out star or top contributor roles on their respective teams. And the class has produced numerous other roles players spanning across teams league-wide.

But who actually has claim to being the best player from the ’18 draft so far? The debate is likely a close one.

Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are the only two with real arguments at being the top producer.

Doncic’s case at being the class’s best player lies in his pure talent level and all-time career start.

The first thing that jumps off the page with Doncic — and, in hindsight, likely should have made him the No. 1 pick years ago — is simply his talent level. From the get-go, the Slovenian displayed raw talent shown in only a handful of players ever, scoring with ease, showing innate feel for the game with passing and plenty more. And that drove production from his first-ever game.

Luka Doncic 5 years and a day ago in 46 minutes:

43 Points
17 Rebounds
13 Assists
18/31 FG
64.8% TS

And a game winnerpic.twitter.com/vieT2pTSvM
— Soab (@77soab) August 24, 2025

Few players in league history have seen a better statistical start to their careers than Doncic. Through seven seasons his averages stand at 28.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game, including 47% shooting overall and 35% from three on a whopping 8.8 attempts per game.

Doncic has seen numerous all-time “firsts”, including triple doubles, All-NBA selections and a fiery postseason run en route to a Finals appearance with the Mavericks. There's little need to re-hash the fiasco surrounding him last season, but his production is sure to continue with the Lakers.

Gilgeous-Alexander's case is incredibly simple: he's seen one of the greatest seasons of basketball ever, earning the league MVP, a championship, Finals MVP and earning a new max contract to put a bow on everything.

SGA MVP season bag work pic.twitter.com/41P5kszDqS
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) July 4, 2025

His career started much differently, being selected at No. 11 by the Clippers, before being included in the Paul George trade following his rookie season. He saw a more gradual climb in OKC before reaching superstardom, but put the pedal down quickly in becoming one of the best players in the world.

Most recently SGA averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds, becoming the driving force of offense on an all-time defensive team.

For many, despite a more topsy-turvy last few seasons, Doncic would still edge out the Thunder superstar. He's likely the more talented offensive player overall, given his affinity for including others. But Gilgeous-Alexander's MVP and hoisting of the Larry O'Brien trophy make things somewhat inarguable at the moment. He's found himself in a better situation, but he's also made the most of it, developing into potentially the world's best pure scorer, and adding a defensive punch in the process.

Ultimately, it matters little whether Doncic or Gilgeous-Alexander is deemed 2018's best. But the argument will likely continue to be close moving forward.

This article first appeared on NBA Draft on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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