NBA 2018 Draft Review: 5 disappointing rookies from the class of 2018

The NBA 2018 Draft was the last draft before the new lottery odds came into force. The Phoenix Suns had drawn the No.1 draft pick in the lottery, as they had one of the worst records in the regular season for the 2017-18 season.

The Sacramento Kings had the No.2 pick and the Atlanta Hawks rounded up the top 3 picks. The Memphis Grizzlies had the fourth pick and the Dallas Mavericks were the fifth pick in a draft where a lot of top talent was ready to enter the NBA.

One of the defining moments of this draft was the trade between the Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks, that ended up becoming a swap for Luka Doncic from the Atlanta Hawks and Trae Young plus a first round 2019 draft pick.

While it was filled with young talent looking to take over the NBA, it also has given us a lot of duds this season. With this in mind, let us take a look at the 5 most overrated players from this 2018 draft class.

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#5 Marvin Bagley III (Sacramento Kings)

Sacramento Kings drafted a future star in Bagley, but he has not yet played to that level

Marvin Bagley III was an offensive juggernaut coming into the NBA in the 2018 draft and he was drafted in the second place ahead of players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Jaren Jackson Jr. among others.

The 6 foot 11 inch forward was considered to be a stretch center, even though he did not have the size to defend a lot of the larger centers in the NBA. Bagley was shooting the 3 ball at just under 40% in college which made him a solid stretch center prospect.

But he has played just 55 games for a surging Sacramento Kings this season, starting just 2 games, his season hampered by injuries and inability to usurp Nemanja Bjelica from his starting spot. The moment Bagley started playing some good basketball, he got injured.

Marvin is averaging a decent 14.7 points, along with 7.3 rebounds and 1 block a game. His shooting has been efficient, making 52% from his field goal attempts while shooting 30.8% from beyond the arc, making Bagley somewhat serviceable.

He makes this list due to the high potential he possesses and how he has been unable to maximize his chances on a Kings team that did not have much competition for the Power Forward spot. Bagley's inability to stay on the floor for long stretches of the season has hampered his game as well.

Bagley has shown signs of life recently and in brief stretches before an injury took him down. He can become a really solid player this season if he can keep himself on the court for longer than the 25 minutes per game he has gotten this season and if he can also manage to keep himself fit.

#4 Wendell Carter Jr (Chicago Bulls)

The Chicago Bulls were pleased to draft Carter this season

Wendell Carter Jr. was considered one of the most well rounded and NBA-ready players in the 2018 NBA draft and was selected No. 7 by the Chicago Bulls.

The 6 foot 10 forward had a 7 and a half feet wingspan, making him capable of defending the interior even without his lack of height.

He was considered an ideal stretch center in the league as Carter had demonstrated a solid 3 point shot during his time in the college.

Carter had an amazing showing in the NBA Summer League as well, making the Bulls dream of a great frontcourt pairing with Lauri Markkanen.

But he was slow out of the gates at the start of the season, not showing much of an offensive game even with Lauri injured for a while. Wendell Carter was a superb rim protector and was a solid interior defensive presence.

Carter could only manage 44 games this season for the Bulls and has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a thumb injury. In the 44 games he played, Carter averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game.

He was not able to shoot from beyond the 3 and barely took any shots as well. He shot 48% from the field, which shows Wendell Carter needs to improve on his shot selection and accuracy as he could be doing so much more for the Bulls, given the lack of competition.

#3 Collin Sexton (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Sexton with some high hopes

Collin Sexton was a really explosive player coming into the NBA draft this season and was picked up in the 8th spot by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who needed to rebuild and had chosen Sexton as the ideal player to take them forward in the post-LeBron James era.

The 6 foot 2 guard was considered a small player in stature but made up for more than enough of it with his exceptional speed and scoring ability. His 6 foot 8 wingspan also made sure he had the size to defend multiple guard spots and could smother his opponent.

Sexton could really fly at the rim in college and this created ample passing opportunities for his teammates and he had a decent playmaking ability in college which can be groomed as he plays in the NBA.

But none of his game made it into the NBA as he was simply struck by the huge leap that you have to make from college basketball to the NBA. He has just been a scorer for the Cavaliers all season and has been disappointing after all the expectations that were on him.

He has averaged a solid 16.3 points a game, along with 3 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game, which are empty stats for the lead playmaker for the Cavaliers. He has no defensive stats to offer as well, which shows what a nonfactor he is on defense.

He has played 75 games this season for the Cavaliers and his shooting has been great, shooting above 40%, both from the field and beyond the arc. But for the Cavaliers, Sexton needs to improve both his offense and defense as Cavaliers are looking to him as being a key piece in their rebuild process.

#2 Kevin Knox (New York Knicks)

New York Knicks had drafted Knox with a lot of fanfare

Kevin Knox was one of the most explosive players in the 2018 NBA draft and was drafted in the ninth spot by the New York Knicks, who were desperate for a player who would lead them forward in an era where they had no leader.

He had a really strong showing in the summer league which led to most people heralding him as the steal of the draft and the Knicks' fans were thanking the "Basketball Gods" for answering their prayers.

Knox turned out to be a stunning disappointment in the regular season of the NBA. He was a one-dimensional player who just had his athleticism going for him. Since the Knicks did not have a scorer on their team, he was taking a lot of aimless shots landing nowhere.

Slowly, the Knicks fans have become disillusioned with his game as he offers almost nothing on the defensive end and is almost a one trick pony on the offense.

He has the potential to become a really solid two-way player if he improves his off-ball game and shooting as well as his positioning and understanding of the defense.

He is averaging 12.6 points per game this season, along with 4.3 rebounds and just 1 assist a game. He has been a volume shooter, taking 12 field goals a game but making under 37% of them. He has played 67 games this season, starting 49 of them and has missed a few games due to some niggling injuries.

While Knox has managed to stay fit for most of the season, he has just been unable to improve on his game in the NBA from the college level and the Knicks will be hoping that he can make a leap in his second year and become a force in the NBA for them soon.

#1 Mohamed Bamba (Orlando Magic)

The Magic drafted Bamba with high hopes

Mohamed Bamba was one of the most intriguing players coming into the 2018 NBA draft and was drafted at No. 6 by the Orlando Magic. He is a 7-foot tall center and had an unheard of 7 feet 10-inch wingspan, which had everyone just shaking in their boots thinking about his potential.

There was no doubt about his rim blocking ability and he was touted as someone who could become a stretch 5 and at that size with that wingspan, it would be impossible to block him. Yet, he never managed a good game with the Magic this season.

He played only 47 games for them, with just 1 start, before being declared out for the season with an injury. Bamba was touted to become a 3 point threat but the best bet of seeing whether a player can be a 3 point shooter is by his free throw percentages and boy they are low, just at 58.7%.

Bamba has averaged only 6.2 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in just 16.3 minutes of action, which has been a major disappointment. With Vucevic in All-Star form, Bamba was expected to at least impress in the minutes he was receiving to push his name into starting contention.

But he was unable to do anything, with his game just not translating into the NBA from his college season. His offseason practices had everyone thinking just how good he could be, but he has been nothing but a massive disappointment in his rookie season with the Orlando Magic.

Maybe he can better with each season and more playing time, but this season was just horrible for Mo Bamba.