Flexibility has become a way of life for Nickeil Alexander-Walker, both on and off the court.
The 26-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves combo guard sharpened his diverse set of skills playing basketball with his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, now a perennial MVP candidate for the Oklahoma City Thunder, with the pair constantly switching positions. That upbringing, coupled with playing on three teams in six seasons to begin his NBA career, has made Alexander-Walker able to adapt to virtually any situation.
"I think just understanding, really from how the path of my career has went so far, it's just understanding you've got to find ways to be able to get on the floor," said Alexander-Walker on Wednesday. "It's a big part of who I am, being versatile, being flexible, just find ways to play."
Alexander-Walker was selected 17th overall by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019 NBA Draft. Within two weeks his draft rights were traded to the Atlanta Hawks, alongside Allen Crabbe and draft considerations for Taurean Prince.
He was then immediately flipped to the New Orleans Pelicans, where he signed his first NBA contract the next day.
Alexander-Walker spent the better part of three seasons in New Orleans before being dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 8, 2022, in a multiplayer deal involving several draft picks.
A day later, Alexander-Walker was traded again, this time to the Utah Jazz in a three-team trade. Finally, Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley Jr. were traded to Minnesota in a three-team trade with the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 9, 2023.
"Fortunately, I've been on teams in the beginning that had a focus to win, had a focus to make playoffs, and so it's never been that easy a route, where you can just play with no expectations, because they're not planning to be good for years," he said on bouncing from team-to-team so often in his NBA career. "I think that's why flexibility is what I've learned to do."
He had to adapt again when the Timberwolves sent Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, and a first-round pick in early October, just before this season began.
"One thing that it did teach me is to be more efficient with my shots, take the right shots, how to find my spot, to play without the ball even more, because we do have guys that are able to get downhill," said Alexander-Walker. "We have guys that are able to shoot and Donte's a threat, so with his shooting ability and the force that he plays with, I think it allowed me to be prepared for just a variety of looks, catch and shoot threes, cutting, pushing the pace.
"Those are things since that trade: how to be more effective, because now you have not just myself backing up Mike (Conley), but also Donte and what those minutes look like when we're playing together."
He has averaged 8.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game over his career, but has seen a slight uptick 14 games into this season with 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
Going back to his youth playing with Gilgeous-Alexander, Alexander-Walker feels like he's always been able to assume different roles on any basketball team.
"I feel like I'm ready for today's NBA, and what that looks like, especially when you have guys like one Victor Wembanyama, like Chet Holmgren, Naz Reid," he said. "It's a game where you don't want to be just held into one kind of position.
"I think working on my game, taking the right steps each and every day, as I do, and that process of building the player that I can be, and then also building the player that I am today, I think that I'm putting myself in position to be effective for my team."
Alexander-Walker and the Timberwolves visit the Toronto Raptors on Thursday and he's excited to play in front of his hometown crowd.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2024.
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John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press