In his two full seasons with the Timberwolves, Nickeil Alexander-Walker was an extremely valuable player for them. Despite coming off the bench most of the time, he still played on average more than half the game (24.4 minutes).
An above-average perimeter defender, Alexander-Walker posted a 15.4 percent usage rate for Minnesota over the past two years. While it’s a small sample size, it has skyrocketed to 23.5 percent during Alexander Walker’s first six games with the Hawks.
Alexander-Walker is a big part of the Hawks’ offensive game plan
In Atlanta’s 20-point win over the Pacers Friday night, Alexander-Walker shot 8-14 from the field and finished with 21 points. The 27-year-old is now averaging 17 points per game this season and has double-digit field goal attempts in all six games. Since a 2-15 clinker in the opener, Alexander-Walker has made exactly half of his field goal attempts since then.
Over the past two seasons, the 6-foot-1 wing hasn’t missed a single appearance for Minnesota. In 2024/25, Alexander-Walker made at least ten shots in 22 games, barely more than a quarter of his appearances. Last year there were only 10 games in which he did this.
Missed by the Timberwolves through their first five games
Any Wolves fan would probably tell you there was some disappointment when they found out Alexander-Walker would be moving. He provided tremendous value off the bench and finished sixth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting last season. However, when the team re-signed both Julius Randle and Naz Reid, it became clear that the money wasn’t there to bring back Alexander-Walker.
His presence on the defensive end was valued more during his Timberwolves tenure than on offense. Sure, he could score, but he didn’t average double figures at Minnesota. Yes, his playing time has increased slightly this year with the Hawks, but his 16.8 field goal attempts per 36 minutes are significantly more than the 10.4 he averaged over the past two years.
Alexander-Walker has also had more opportunities to take it to the basket thus far, and his attempts at the line are also significantly higher than during his tenure in Minnesota. The seventh-year player has 19 free throw attempts. He only reached that number in the 16th game last season.
Now Terrence Shannon Jr. had scoreless performances in two of his last four games, fans will miss Alexander-Walker even more for now. Due to the early defensive issues, the team misses him in that area as well.
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