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. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $6.08 million contract with the Pelicans in July of 2019. Pelicans exercised $3.26 million team option for 2021-22 in December of 2020. Pelicans exercised $5.01 million team option for 2022-23 in October of 2021. Traded to the Trail Blazers in February of 2022. Traded to the Jazz in February of 2022.
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.
Back in bench role
GUtah Jazz
March 21, 2022
Alexander-Walker isn't starting Monday's game against Brooklyn.
ANALYSIS Alexander-Walker nabbed two starts in the absence of Mike Conley, but he'll head back to a bench role Monday evening with Conley back in action. The Virginia Tech product is averaging 4.4 minutes, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in his last 10 games as a reserve.
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.
ANALYSIS While not as talented as Team USA or other countries in Europe such as France or Spain, there's no question Canada is building a solid foundation of talent for years to come as it aims to clinch a berth in both the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. It remains to be seen if Alexander-Walker will participate in all the qualifying games given his NBA commitments, but he should be an important scoring piece for the team in the international tournaments, provided the team clinches a berth in the North American region.
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.
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Not in rotation with Jazz
GUtah Jazz
February 28, 2022
Alexander-Walker has been a DNP-CD in each of the Jazz's last three games.
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Dealt to Jazz
GUtah Jazz
Not Injury Related
February 9, 2022
The Jazz acquired Alexander-Walker and Juancho Hernangomez on Wednesday as part of a three-team deal involving the Trail Blazers and Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. Portland will acquire Joe Ingles (knee), Elijah Hughes and a future second-round pick, while the Spurs will acquire Tomas Satoransky and a future second-round pick.
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Scores 14 points off bench
GNew Orleans Pelicans
February 2, 2022
Alexander-Walker registered 14 points (5-11 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 2-3 FT), one rebound, two assists, one block and two steals over 19 minutes during Tuesday's 111-101 victory over the Pistons.
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