Nickeil Alexander-Walker and His Well-Rounded Game Are Ready for the Stretch Run

Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker is contributing nightly with his defense, 3-point shooting, and attacking off the catch that has become vital to Minnesota’s success.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker was seen as a salary matching throw-in during the trade that brought in Mike Conley to the Minnesota Timberwolves and shipped out D’Angelo Russell to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was a trade that signaled a culture shift in Minnesota. It complemented the move to acquire Rudy Gobert, and with Anthony Edwards emerging as an elite scorer and dynamic player, it was time to buy in more than ever before and capitalize on what might be the most open championship window this franchise has seen in recent memory.

NAW has become so much more than a throw-in, though. He’s become an extremely well- rounded player who can truly do everything this team needs on a nightly basis. His minutes coming off the bench are going to be extremely vital in this final stretch run as the Wolves continue to hunt a top seed in a loaded Western Conference, and it’s why I’m sticking with my preseason take of him being the most valuable player to the Timberwolves’ success.

In a little more than a calendar year, Alexander-Walker has built an ever-growing resume that makes a convincing case for his place among the best perimeter and point of attack defenders in the league. His intensity and lateral quickness make him tough for any opposing player to shake. That combination enables him to fight over screens at a high level and allows him to contest shots where other players would fail to keep themselves involved in the plays he is in on a nightly basis. He ranks fifth in defensive rating, per NBA.com. His quick hands and high basketball IQ, especially when it comes to how to properly contest without fouling, play a large part in that.

As a result of the former Virginia Tech star’s defensive rise, Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch having his choice of any combination of Alexander-Walker, Edwards and Jaden McDaniels on the perimeter with Gobert anchoring the paint behind them is going to be huge in a playoff series. Looking at potential playoff foes as the Western Conference stands right now, putting NAW on stars such as Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal of the Phoenix Suns, or the Sacramento Kings’ De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk will be critical to advancing and making a deep playoff run.

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Here are two prime examples of Alexander-Walker’s defensive capabilities. His lateral quickness is on full display as he is working coast-to-coast to fight over screens and his intensity to keep himself engaged in the matchup and get back to the ball handler and not allow easy dribble drive penetration.

His ability to defend at this level does two things for the Wolves, and it all begins with preventing the opposing team from living at the rim. Rim pressure is the foundation of most lethal NBA offenses. If offenses relentlessly attack the rim, it will ultimately lead to help defenders overcommitting, and create either foul trouble for those that are forced to rotate and contest at the rim, or a ton of drive-and-kick opportunities. Either way, when a defense is forced to collapse to protect the basket, it leads to fouls or open 3s. NAW consistently keeping the ball in front of him is an important driver for this team’s success, and turning to him to stifle bench units and close games in perimeter defense-oriented lineups is a huge asset to have, and surely helps Finch sleep at night.

Alexander-Walker is also a reliable 3-point shooter. He is shooting 37.8% from beyond the arc on four attempts per game. Shooting at this clip spaces the floor so that teams can’t just pack the paint and clog the lanes the same way they can with Kyle Anderson or Gobert in the game. NAW has some much-needed gravity on the floor. If defenses are going to rotate off of Nickeil to collapse on other Wolves players driving, Alexander-Walker has the ability to knock down an open shot and make defenses pay.

Here, Edwards drives downhill and Monk rotates off of him to stop the dribble drive penetration. Edwards makes the easy pass and Monk over-helps, so NAW knocks down an easy open triple.

This is another example of the 2019 first-round pick hurting defenses when they attempt to load up on someone else. Jonathan Kuminga flies by Edwards on the shot fake and that forces Klay Thompson to be way out of position, as he has to show himself to stop the penetration. Again, Edwards makes the simple pass and NAW again drills another wide open 3.

Here is a pick-and-roll between Edwards and Gobert. The defense loads up on Edwards as the ball-handler and it opens up an easy pass to Gobert as the roll man. The weak side defender has to rotate over to stop Gobert from getting an easy look at the rim, and it frees NAW up for another triple.

Alexander-Walker is way more than just a 3-and-D wing. He is an elite defender and is a solid shooter, but he can also play off the catch and apply pressure on the rim.

Here, NAW is able to get into the paint off the dribble drive from the left wing. This forces the defense to collapse; there are four Golden State Warriors players in the paint once he leaves his feet. In this instance, the defense is way too late on their rotations and it leads to an easy layup. If the defense had rotated earlier, it leaves Naz Reid and Karl-Anthony Towns as open shooters on the perimeter.

Here is another example of his dribble drive game, but this time it leads to a breakdown with Reid in the corner. Since NAW is able to get downhill and has an angle on his defender, Brandon Ingram (as the low man on the weak side of the defense) has to rotate over and it creates an easy kick-out to Reid. This allows Reid to either shoot it or attack the closeout from Ingram.

NAW has also shown he has what it takes to be a respectable playmaker for his teammates, especially in pick-and-roll with his ambidextrous passing.

In this clip, Alexander-Walker reads that the defense has loaded up on stopping the pass to Reid as the roll man and it leads to a wide open layup for himself. Even if the defender is able to contest at the rim, NAW has proven he can consistently hit the cross-court pass to the corner pocket, which would have been McDaniels in this instance.

Up next, NAW is running a Horns set with Anderson and Reid. NAW understands the spacing with Anderson rolling to the free throw line and Reid popping to the top of the key, with Towns creeping in from the left corner is bad, and with no angle to beat the defender to the rim, a pull-up mid-range jump shot is the best look the Wolves are likely to see on that possession.

Here are two plays in which Alexander-Walker hits the roll man in open spots on the floor that lead to high percentage looks.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker has developed his game so much in the short time he’s been in Minnesota. Evolving from being a hard-nosed defender into an elite defensive killer with the ability to score at all three levels and create for his teammates, all while playing very much within himself is quite a jump. NAW is going to be a difference-maker down the final stretch of the season, and will win the Wolves a playoff game because of that development. Enjoy Alexander-Walker while he’s here, because he’s playing himself into some serious money on his next contract. Here’s to hoping that new ownership and the Timberwolves front office views him as the building block he is.