The Atlanta Hawks entered the 2025 NBA offseason desperate to find another guard to fill their needs on the offensive and defensive end. They decided to address these needs by acquiring Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a sign-and-trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for four years, $62 million.
This has become the move of the offseason for the Hawks and possibly across the entire NBA.
Alexander-Walker Stepping up in Crunch Time
Alexander-Walker has been nothing but a star for the Hawks since Trae Young’s knee injury early in the season. He’s averaging 20 points per game on 46 percent from the field and close to 40 percent from the three-point line. More importantly for the Hawks, he’s been the clutch player they’ve needed.
Alexander-Walker has taken over games late in the fourth quarter with his play on both sides of the ball. Coming to Atlanta, the Hawks knew they were getting a shutdown defender they needed, but his shooting has opened the floor up for the offense in crunch time.
This season, when the Hawks have needed a big bucket, they’ve turned to Alexander-Walker to make those shots. Over the 11 games that have gone into crunch time for Atlanta this year, Alexander-Walker has averaged, per 100 possessions, 53.1 points while shooting 50% from three.
The Hawks have used Alexander-Walker in a variety of offensive sets throughout the season. He has thrived as a cutter with and without the ball, which has allowed the team to run off screens or simple back-cuts for him.
Oftentimes in big games, the Hawks will go to Alexander-Walker to make tough three-point shots. They generate a ton of catch-and-shoot opportunities with off-ball screens, using Jalen Johnson as the primary ball-handler. These shots are going to continue to be available for him even as Trae Young returns to the fold.
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Doing It on Both Ends
The defense Nickeil Alexander-Walker has provided this season is something the Hawks have been needing for some time. Dyson Daniels is one of the best defenders in the league and often is stuck one-on-one with the leading scorer on the opposing team.
Now with Alexander-Walker, the Hawks have been able to switch on ball defending throughout possessions. Atlanta’s defense has improved from a defensive rating of 19th to 11th this season with some of these minor changes.
What Happens When Trae Young Returns?
A bigger question for Atlanta moving forward is defining the role of Alexander-Walker when Trae Young returns. Thankfully, there are moves the Hawks can make to keep his production up in the lineup.
One of the solutions would be to keep Alexander-Walker in the starting lineup. This would mean that a current starter would have to move to the bench, and the early candidate would be Zaccharie Risacher. This would be similar to what the Hawks did in the past with DeAndre Hunter coming off the bench to provide a spark.
The other solution would be moving Alexander-Walker back to the bench to be the sixth man. He would be the floor general for the bench unit to run pick and rolls with Kristaps Porzingis.
Either solution will provide the Hawks with another outlet of scoring and elite defense off the bench, which the Hawks have desperately needed for the last few years. Nickeil Alexander-Walker stepping up has been one of the reasons that the Hawks have improved over the course of the season.
Even when Trae Young returns, Alexander-Walker will continue to thrive and be a factor.
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