What Nickeil Alexander-Walker thinks about becoming a Hawk

He knows 2024 wasn’t a true reflection of Hawks’ capabilities

“I would say, for myself, just being able to process what it is that (the Hawks are) trying to do, as well as myself and for me, going into this entire process, I want to be able to still have that impact, to win and compete. And I feel like, here’s a great opportunity. We talked about last season. It felt like it didn’t really, truly depict the team that the Hawks were, injuries and so forth. I think I want to say that going into All-Star (break), or before that, they were doing really well. And those injuries kind of hurt them, but I felt like that was a team that had a lot of potential, especially with the staff, the players — Jalen (Johnson), Trae (Young), Dre (De’Andre Hunter) before he got traded, Vit (Krejci) from when he was with us in training camp with Minnesota, he impressed me, as well. So, I definitely feel like this team has just a lot of versatility in adding KP (Kristaps Porzingis) and adding Luke (Kennard). And I’m just happy that so far everyone up to management has been good people."

Teammates have made him feel welcome

“Funny enough, I actually ran into Dyson (Daniels) in LA before I talked to any teams or anything, and I was just getting food in line, and he came up to me, and I was surprised. I was on my phone, texting, and to me, it was like, that was really cool of him because we haven’t really gotten the chance to ever really speak like that. So for him to just come up to me say, ’What’s up?’ shows the type of person that he is, like off the court for one.

“(Trae) was the first person to ever reach out to me, and I appreciated that. Just being in my position, having the franchise player reach out to you and express to you the value that he could see, meant a lot. But also just as a human, (he’s a) really chill guy, and I respect him a lot, especially because it takes a certain level of humility to do that. And some guys have pride and like, they see it as like, ‘Oh, it’s privileged to play with me’ type thing. And I think that he really showed that he’s a team guy.”

He’s ready to be a defensive tandem

“On the court, I really have a lot of respect for the way (Daniels has) been able to kind of, like me coming from New Orleans, and go through a little bit of struggle, and then turn it around, and then find it defensively is inspiring in a sense, because I feel like we walk the same path, so to speak. And I definitely have that understanding of him as a player, and I’m excited. Honestly, I love defending now, and I know that he’s somebody that I can learn from, especially with how he’s able to read passing lanes. It seems like he’s everywhere. Just that period where he’s having like, seven steals, five steals, like video-game numbers defensively, and that’s something I can really add to my game. And I feel like having two pieces like that, and I texted him when he welcomed me, like, just excited to get on the court and to defend and to cause havoc.”

He’s ready to step up as a leader

“Honestly, it’s kind of surreal because I never thought I’d be like that ‘vet guy’ with all this playoff experience, especially with just kind of how (my career) started. But honestly, it’s just one thing I’ve learned is just trying to be a great teammate. How can I dive in and be close with everybody? The camaraderie is very important. It’s what holds you up that long into the season. It’s training your body, being tired mentally, tired of the schemes and coming back, and the emotions that can also come with a playoff series. Being able to handle that, I think, like it’s made me more mature. But also just being able to lead by example and just how hard I play and things that I see and always trying to talk and communicate without being annoying as best as possible, is really important. And honestly, these guys are great players. And last season, they had a good chance to do what they really wanted to do it’s just, injuries, so not overstepping, either. You know, just kind of throwing in my 2 cents wherever I see fit.”

Head start on Snyder’s terminology

“It’s very much different from any other NBA team, and I feel like everyone kind of knows that. And so terminology-wise, I definitely do (have a head start). I think, from what I’ve seen, it’s not much different. It’s just getting more accustomed and reactive with the groove of it, the concepts, thinking about it, trying to breathe it, live it. So then it just becomes natural.”