What is the best budget gaming laptop in 2018?

definition of oxymoron: budget and gaming

Thank you. This is for my 12 year old nephew and he has about $400 saved:) I'll ask him what games he wants to play on this "gaming laptop". He has an xbox and mostly uses that.

Thank you

You are welcome. I was in a very similar boat a few years ago with my son. The first laptop I got him was just good enough to play basic games, I wanted to see how well he cared for it. He learned some lessons with that first one, so I'm glad I didn't go high end.

When it comes to savings, don't underestimate the motivational aspects of a desire to game. I know most of my early jobs were to fund my Nintendo collection back then or to have more money for the arcade. :) He may have a ways to go for that gaming laptop.

You may want to monitor this question I asked after viewing yours. https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/29087027/Looking-for-first-hand-experience-building-custom-laptops.html

Thanks, Craig! He wants to use the laptop to play "GTA 5  and NBA games".

Those system requirements aren't bad at all, if I guessed the NBA one correctly. https://support.2k.com/hc/en-us/articles/115011066408--PC-NBA-2K18-System-Requirements
and
https://support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/203428177-Grand-Theft-Auto-V-PC-System-Specs

Your biggest concern is probably going to be the durability of the laptop. Kids are tough on hardware. :)

MSI has the least expensive gaming laptops I've seen around, but even then it's more like $800 to get a decent GPU
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834154733&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Gaming+Laptops-_-N82E16834154733&gclid=Cj0KCQiAieTUBRCaARIsAHeLDCRbBCTpWp1BkHr8vmi5b0vd69O7UdRnwXvU3R9iY9F_tjqW9yxQxbkaAuCVEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

would this laptop work ok? I know it doesn't meet all the requirements for the games but just wondering if it would be decent enough for his age?

https://www.very.co.uk/dell-inspiron-15-5000-series-amd-a6-8gb-ram-1tb-hard-drive-dvdcd-drive-156-inch-hd-laptop-with-optional-microsoft-office-365-home-ndash-red/1600153271.prd?sku=sku19819341&cm_mmc=google-_-PLA+-+Generic-_-Electricals+-+Laptops-_-na_226448372131&utm_medium=cpc&k_clickid=b3398c5b-5a30-4d89-8666-01a7e1392608&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Shopping_Electricals%20-%20Laptops&utm_term=na&utm_content=226448372131&profileid=402&keywordid=na&productgroupid=pg2442035&device=t&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrraSvZLO2QIVBLcbCh2EGg-wEAkYASABEgL4cPD_BwE

That looks like it would be decent. Given what you were looking at spending and what Aaron said about MSI, I found this on Amazon UK...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-GE72-6QF-Apache-001-HID1/dp/B015VKC2W2/

I know it's a bit more expensive, but that is a lot more machine for the money. Added bonus it says "gaming" all over it. :)