Former Virginia Tech star reflects on profound moment after drilling game-winning shot

After a standout career at Virginia Tech, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has played for a handful of teams that have had their share of superstar players. You could call some of them closers.

A closer in basketball is someone who can knock down a shot in the final seconds, cold-blooded, to lift their team to a win. Alexander-Walker has been around Donovan Mitchell, Zion Williamson, Anthony Edwards, and Brandon Ingram, just to name a few, who have hit some clutch game-winning shots.

On Thursday night, Alexander-Walker got his chance to drill a game-winning shot, and he ended up having his cold-blooded moment for the Atlanta Hawks.

Former Virginia Tech star Nickeil Alexander-Walker hits game-winning shot against Jazz

Tied at 119 with the Utah Jazz on Thursday night at State Farm Arena, Alexander-Walker brought the ball up court, but noticed that the Jazz defense was not set. He took advantage. He drove to the basket, picked up his dribble, and nailed a turnaround jump shot that bounced around the rim before going throught he net with one second left.

He fell to the floor on the shot and admired his shot from the ground as it went through the basket. It led to a 121-119 victory, and after the game, Alexander-Walker reflected on his game-winning shot, which he had been watching other teammates do at his previous stops.

“All that I’ve been through in my career, it’s really cool to finally work to gain that trust from somebody,” Alexander-Walker said. “For me, it’s pretty cool cause I worked for those moments, and today was a shot that everyone kept saying to me that we seen so many times, knowing that I work on that stuff. It’s more relieving that it went in because of the work that I put in and how many times I’ve shot it before, and in that moment, it’s really cool to see it go in and to know that the work also translates.”

The win was big for the Hawks as it kept them in ninth place in the Eastern Conference in the race for a spot in the NBA play-in. Alexander-Walker finished with 23 points and five assists. How he scored his 23 points was different than normal. He hit five free throws, but his nine field goals were all two-point shots. He missed all three of his 3-point attempts, an area he has been hot from lately.

For one night, Alexander-Walker had his 'cold-blooded' moment for the Hawks in a key moment, something he'll always remember.