Hawks’ Alexander-Walker’s career night strengthens case for Most Improved
One thing that the Hawks can count on from wing Nickeil Alexander-Walker is that he will meet the moment. On Monday, his latest turn helped deliver the Hawks their 10th straight win.
The planned “Magic City Monday” promotion was canceled, but Alexander-Walker put on his own show.
Alexander-Walker scored a career-high 41 points after knocking down a career-best nine 3-pointers. It’s the second time this season that Alexander-Walker has bested his career high, after he scored 38 points on Nov. 20, 2025, against the Spurs on 8-of-10 shooting from deep.
“It’s a little scary, because it felt great,” Alexander-Walker said of the affirmation he feels when seeing his progress this season. “And you go through ups and downs in the season, so it’s hard to not feel elated.
“I was texting my trainer; I told him earlier, ‘It just felt euphoric, almost.’ And so it’s hard to balance it. A night like tonight, how important tonight was this game and then to have a game the way I did on national TV, like so many things.
“So, you take a step back. You appreciate it. You say, ‘Thank you, God, just for giving you this opportunity, this moment.’ And then it’s kind of like, ‘All right, back to reality. Continue to do the same things.’”
Alexander-Walker has been among the most consistent Hawks players this season. But that consistency has come with the Hawks asking him to take on far more than he has in his previous stops around the NBA.
The Hawks added Alexander-Walker via a sign-and-trade agreement with the Timberwolves last summer. The move received widespread applause from national reporters and analysts. Then, quickly into the season, many labeled Alexander-Walker as one of the best free-agency signings of the offseason.
Alexander-Walker has proved why pretty much every night.
Through 65 games, Alexander-Walker has averaged career-high numbers in almost every category, setting himself up for a case for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. Alexander-Walker, along with Jalen Johnson, is among the top candidates for the award.
Alexander-Walker has put up 20.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists, all while handling a higher volume of shooting. This season, he’s attempted a career-high 15.5 field-goal attempts, more than double his tries last season. He’s also nearly doubled his 3-point attempts, going from 4.5 to 8.2 tries per game.
All of that comes as his role with the Hawks shifted before the season ever really took off.
When the Hawks signed Alexander-Walker in the offseason, it appeared that the 27-year-old would be the first off the bench. Things changed abruptly when former Hawks guard Trae Young went down with an MCL sprain and the team bumped Alexander-Walker to the starting unit.
By the time the regular season concludes in April, Alexander-Walker will have started more games in a single season than he has in his previous six seasons.
“I think that he knew when he came here that we were going to ask a lot of him on a lot of levels,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said Monday. “Knew he was going to defend, and I think his aggressiveness offensively has been really important.
“As he’s done that, he’s learning more and more how to make reads, being able to shoot the ball with the release that he has, that’s a read. And then I think getting to the rim is another read. He’s taking a lot of pride right now as when he does get another defender to commit to passing the ball as well.
“But no matter what he’s doing offensively, he’s just a competitor, and you just respect that about him because he approaches the game that way and that’s his leadership for our team, as much as anything.”
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