Despite a few bright spots, Alexander-Walker is yet to establish himself as a reliable NBA guard. Across four seasons in the league, he has played as nothing more than a backup, providing underwhelming production on both ends of the floor. He closed the 2022-23 campaign as the 334th-ranked player in standard leagues, averaging 6.2 points per game, adding 1.8 assists and 0.5 steals. He signed a two-year deal to stay in Minnesota during the offseason after being traded from the Jazz midway through the 2022-23 season. NAW will battle Jordan McLaughlin and Shake Milton for backup minutes, meaning his role is likely to remain largely unchanged. Put simply, he should not be on anyone's radar outside of very deep leagues. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $9 million contract with the Timberwolves in July of 2023.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was born in 1998 in Toronto, Ontario. He is the son of Nicole Alexander and Nicholas Walker and has three sisters and three brothers. Alexander-Walker is also the cousin of NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Toronto native attended three different high schools: Vaughan Secondary School (Ontario), St. Louis Christian Academy (Missouri) and Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Tennessee). At Hamilton Heights, he was able to play with Gilgeous-Alexander. In 2016, Alexander-Walker competed for Team Canada at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship and led the team to the silver medal. His 17.4 points per game led all tournament scorers. After high school, Alexander-Walker played two seasons of collegiate ball at Virginia Tech. Fans can follow the Hokie product on Twitter (@NickeilAW) and Instagram (nickeilaw). For two seasons, 2017 through 2019, Alexander-Walker started in the backcourt for coach Buzz Williams at Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-5 guard provided 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 three-pointers per game as a freshman. He opened his career with a combined 53 points in his first two games. Alexander-Walker would only score 20 points or more in one other game, but he provided consistent perimeter shooting -- Alexander-Walker connected on 39.2 percent of his three-point attempts during that freshman year. The Hokies made the 2018 NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round to Alabama despite 15 points from the first-year guard. Alexander-Walker matured into a lead scorer as a sophomore. The athletic wing led the squad with 16.2 points per game to go with 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per contest. He again started the season on a hot streak with four straight 20-point games. The Toronto-native also had 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists during a victory over Miami in the regular-season finale. The Hokies returned to the Big Dance in 2019 and advanced to the second round. Alexander-Walker had six points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals in the first-round win over Liberty. He was named to the All-ACC Third Team. Following the season, Alexander-Walker declared for the 2019 NBA Draft and was chosen with the 17th overall by the Brooklyn Nets.
ANALYSIS Alexander-Walker was traded to the Timberwolves at the deadline last year and averaged 6.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 19.4 minutes across 29 appearances with his new team. He started four of Minnesota's five playoff matchups versus Denver, averaging 8.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes during the postseason. Alexander-Walker figures to be a solid reserve guard behind Mike Conley and Anthony Edwards during the 2023-24 campaign.
2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2022 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2022
2021
2020
2019
Stat Review
How does Nickeil Alexander-Walker compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
50.3%
Effective Field Goal %
48.8%
3-Point Attempt Rate
57.6%
Free Throw Rate
16.8%
Offensive Rebound %
2.2%
Defensive Rebound %
10.8%
Total Rebound %
6.6%
Assist %
12.1%
Steal %
1.0%
Block %
1.7%
Turnover %
5.7%
Usage %
17.4%
Fantasy Points Per Game
11.7
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.8
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Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Timberwolves Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Nickeil Alexander-Walker was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
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Yahoo
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Head2Head
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Efficient from distance in FIBA
GMinnesota Timberwolves
September 10, 2023
Alexander-Walker averaged 9.4 points in 21.8 minutes per game while shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc across eight contests for Team Canada at the FIBA World Cup. Canada beat Team USA to claim third place Sunday.
ANALYSIS Alexander-Walker had 63 field-goal attempts during the tournament, and 52 were three-point attempts. Playing alongside the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks and Luguentz Dort, Team Canada's defensive rotation was formidable. However, the deep cast limited Alexander-Walker's usage. The 25-year-old will likely have some backup ballhandler duties in Minnesota next season, but settling into a rotation role is his current trajectory.
After making some nice strides forward during his sophomore season, Alexander-Walker took a backward step during 2021-22, ending the season as the 276th-ranked player in eight-category fantasy leagues. He was sent from New Orleans to Utah midway through the season, and despite one or two encouraging performances, he was basically a non-factor in both fantasy and reality. Efficiency remains a significant issue for Alexander-Walker, having now shot under 40 percent in two of his three seasons in the NBA. The Jazz are moving towards a rebuild, and on the surface, that could certainly be a good thing for Alexander-Walker. However, his lack of consistency on both ends of the floor has to be a factor in the decision-making process in Utah. Several players still sit ahead of him in the rotation, so he is well off the fantasy radar for now.
After a shaky rookie campaign, Alexander-Walker made significant strides last season and became a legitimate part of the rotation, though he was sidelined by a leg injury from early April through early May, limiting him to 46 appearances. Even with that being the case, he stepped up in a big way to close the season. In his final 15 appearances (10 starts), the sophomore averaged 16.7 points on 43/39/61 shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 combined steals-plus-blocks. There are still noticeable flaws in the guard's offensive repertoire -- inconsistent three-point shooting, poor finishing ability, subpar passing -- but he's shown enough to be an intriguing deep-league and dynasty fantasy option. The Pelicans' rotation isn't exactly clear before the start of the 2021-22 season. It's possible Alexander-Walker starts, but he could also come off the bench in a sixth-man role. New Orleans' depth isn't especially talented, but there are plenty of other options Alexander-Walker will have to fight off for minutes, including Devonte' Graham, Tomas Satoransky, Kira Lewis, Garrett Temple, Josh Hart and rookie Trey Murphy. For that reason, it's hard to recommend him highly for standard fantasy leagues, though taking a flier with a late-round pick is reasonable.
The 2019 17th overall pick saw action in 47 games during his rookie campaign, but his first career start didn't come until New Orleans' final game in the Orlando bubble in mid-August. While Alexander-Walker acquitted himself very well in that contest - putting up 29 points, seven assists and a steal in 36 minutes - he averaged a modest 5.7 points, 1.9 assists and 1.8 rebounds across 12.6 minutes over 47 games overall while shooting just 36.8 percent overall. Alexander-Walker enters the 2020-21 campaign with a similarly modest fantasy outlook, as he remains relatively buried on the backcourt depth chart. The Pelicans acquired Eric Bledsoe via trade with the Bucks and drafted Kira Lewis with the 13th overall pick earlier in November. Bledsoe's arrival also relegates J.J. Redick to a second-unit role, leaving Alexander-Walker as the presumptive third or fourth option at each guard spot. Naturally, injuries in front of him could open up opportunity, but for the time being, Alexander-Walker may have a difficult time exceeding his rookie-season allotment of playing time by any appreciable margin.
Alexander-Walker's size and playmaking ability helped him be voted onto the 2018-19 All-ACC Third Team as a sophomore last season, and the Pelicans felt confident selecting him with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 Draft. The Virginia Tech product, in conference play, averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. He was one of the big surprises of summer league, making the All-Tournament First Team with averages of 24.3 points (41.2 FG%, 40.6 3P%, 78.3 FT%), 6.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals in 30.4 minutes. While Lonzo Ball, Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick should occupy plenty of backcourt minutes, Alexander-Walker's 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame should allow him to play both guard spots, increasing his potential time on the court, especially since Ball and Holiday are multi-position players as well. Taking the rookie in fantasy drafts is risky given his less-than-ideal path to minutes, but it's difficult to ignore the upside he's shown.
More Fantasy News
Set to hit free agency
GFree Agent
June 29, 2023
The Timberwolves didn't extend a qualifying offer to Alexander-Walker on Thursday, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, Michael Scotto of USA Today reports.
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Spot start yields little
GMinnesota Timberwolves
April 22, 2023
Alexander-Walker amassed eight points (3-5 FG, 2-2 3Pt), two rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes during Friday's 120-111 loss to the Nuggets in Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
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Gets starting nod
GMinnesota Timberwolves
April 21, 2023
Alexander-Walker is in the starting five for Game 3 versus the Nuggets on Friday.
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Returns to bench
GMinnesota Timberwolves
April 19, 2023
Alexander-Walker isn't in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Nuggets, Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com reports.
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Moves into starting lineup
GMinnesota Timberwolves
April 14, 2023
Alexander-Walker will move into the starting lineup for Friday's Play-In Game against the Thunder.
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