The signature name from the stacked 2018 NBA Draft class is considered to be Luka Doncic, who went No. 3 to the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks. The Phoenix Suns passed on Doncic with the No. 1 pick in favor of selecting center Deandre Ayton, a player they traded away at the start of the 2023 season.
While many have derided the Suns’ decision of not pairing Doncic with Devin Booker by selecting Ayton, Richard Jefferson suddenly defended the trade on ESPN’s Lakers vs. Suns broadcast as Doncic once again decimated the Suns en route to a win.
“Well, let me just say this, the No. 1 pick was Deandre Ayton – a fellow Arizona Wildcat, So, the jury’s still out if they made the right pick between Luka and Deandre.”
Richard Jefferson said that the jury is still out on whether the Suns made the right choice with their #1 pick between Luka and Ayton 😂 pic.twitter.com/gDu2ixuVju
— Showtime Luka (@showtimeluka) March 16, 2025
Jefferson admitted to the bias which has influenced this statement as well. He was a star forward for the NCAA’s Arizona Wildcats, the same college Ayton played for. The pick made more sense in 2018 as the NBA team for the state of Arizona, so Ayton was essentially a homegrown star in the eyes of many.
The Suns employed Luka’s national team head coach at the time of the draft and still shockingly passed on getting Luka to form a star backcourt alongside Booker. The prevailing logic from both the No. 1 and No. 2 pick (Sacramento Kings) teams was that Doncic would take away from the young star guard on their roster, and they went with less-talented frontcourt players who didn’t succeed with the franchise.
Ayton averaged 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Suns, playing a pivotal role in the Suns’ run to the 2021 NBA Finals. However, he never really played at an All-Star caliber for the Suns and was traded away in the 2023 offseason after a rough 2022-23 season.
Doncic averaged 28.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 8.3 assists for the Mavericks before a shock midseason trade this year. He also led the Mavericks to an NBA Finals, but the operative word here is ‘led.’ Both the Mavs and Suns might have peaked at the Finals, but Doncic is a multi-time All-NBA player.
Also, at least the Mavs traded him for Anthony Davis and Max Christie, whereas the Suns got back Jusuf Nurkic and Grayson Allen for Ayton, while also losing useful players like Toumani Camara in the process.
The jury has been adjourned for over five years now, as there is simply no conceivable argument to say how the Suns might still somehow be vindicated in their decision to not select a generational talent.
The 2018 NBA Draft will be looked back on as arguably one of the greatest drafts of the modern era. This year’s potential MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is from 2018, as is former DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr, All-NBA guards Jalen Brunson and Trae Young, alongside many other stars like Mikal Bridges, and more.
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