Phoenix's Deandre Ayton had Guy Fieri leaping out of his
courtside seat with a thundering dunk. Atlanta's Trae Young had
Spike Lee leaving early in
disappointment. Dallas' Luka Doncic impressed Paul George so much that the Clippers’
veteran insisted on trading jerseys with the youngster.
They’re all part of the NBA’s draft class of 2018.
And that group, so far, might be the class of these
playoffs.
Doncic is gone, but plenty of others — Young, Ayton, Michael
Porter Jr., Mikal Bridges, Kevin Huerter, Bruce Brown and more —
from the group that got drafted three years ago remain. And they’ve
seemed right at home in this postseason, even though for many it’s
the first time on this big a stage.
“I think it’s the best class in NBA history,” Ayton, the Phoenix
center who went No. 1 overall in that class three years ago, said
after the Suns won their first-round series over the 2020 NBA
champion Los Angeles Lakers. “That’s how I feel. ... Guys like
Luka, MPJ and Trae, it’s been great to watch us young guys go at
it. We’re not backing down.”
Quite the contrary. They’re showing up.
Entering Tuesday, those drafted in 2018 had combined for 21
games of at least 20 points in these playoffs. The only draft class
with more so far in these playoffs was the 2011 group — which has
22, led by the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving and Tobias
Harris.
Doncic, whose Dallas Mavericks lost a seven-game series to the
Los Angeles Clippers in Round 1, had six of those 20-point games.
Young, whose Atlanta Hawks took a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 of
the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia on Tuesday,
also had six -- in his first six playoff games.
“I’m not satisfied,” Young said after Round 1, a series against
New York that he punctuated with a theatrical bow at Madison Square
Garden. “Winning feels good. It feels better.”
Doncic leads — and will likely finish — as the playoff scoring
leader this season, at 35.7 points per game. He's in line for a
rookie extension this summer that will exceed $200 million, and
there's little doubt that the Mavericks will slide that piece of
paper his way.
“He just plays with so much confidence, and his game is just so
beyond his age," George said of Doncic. “He pretty much can pick up
and read almost any defense. ... He’s going to be great. He’s got a
big, huge future ahead of him."
Doncic is far from the only one in the class of 2018 that's has
a big, huge future — and some big, huge paychecks — awaiting him.
Young is averaging 30.2 points entering Tuesday’s game in
Philadelphia. Ayton, in his first playoffs, is shooting 78% from
the field, something nobody in NBA history with more than 50 shot
attempts has done in their first trip to the postseason.
Suns guard Chris Paul has said all season that Ayton has all the
tools — and no one would argue that now.
“It's great to see it coming together for him," Paul said.
Some of the class of 2018 are full-time starters in these
playoffs, like Young for the Hawks, Ayton and Bridges for Phoenix,
Porter Jr. in Denver. Others, like Brown with the Nets, got called
upon to be a spot starter. And some have the closer role; Huerter,
for example, has been on the floor for most of the fourth-quarter
action for the Hawks in the postseason, and his brilliant pass to
John Collins late in Game 1 of the win in Philadelphia led to a
clear-path foul that helped the Hawks seal the victory.
“I’m just trying to impact winning and that’s any way I can
right now in the playoffs,” Huerter said.
And while Huerter doesn’t deny that his 2018 draft class — he
went 19th, while Ayton went No. 1, Young No. 3, Doncic No. 5 (Young
and Doncic were traded for one another), Bridges went 10th and
Brown was a steal at No. 42 — has signs of being special, he knows
it’ll take more than one good postseason run for the group to be
anointed as great.
There are other players who have made impact out of that class
as well, including but not limited to Sacramento's Marvin Bagley
III and Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr., neither of whom have made the
playoffs yet, and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — who
went to the playoffs in his first two seasons, but not this
season.
Ayton fully believes the 2018 takeover is coming.
“It’s the new generation of the league,” he said.
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