When the Minnesota Timberwolves traded former Virginia Tech standout Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Atlanta Hawks, little did anyone know what door was about to open for him.
Stuck in a rotation loaded with talent with Minnesota, Alexander-Walker going to the Hawks opened the door for more playing time for the former Hokie. Let's just say that he has taken advantage of the opportunity in front of him and run with it. He became the second straight Atlanta Hawks player to be named the NBA's Most Improved Player on Friday night. Dyson Daniels won it last season.
The moment Nickeil found out he's the MIP 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Z4BWDEBbN0
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) April 24, 2026
Former Virginia Tech standout Nickel Alexander-Walker named the NBA's Most Improved Player on Friday night
Alexander-Walker has been a big part of the Hawks' resurgence this season. He averaged a career-high 20.8 points, 3.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. Just how good was he this season? He had career highs in blocks, field goal percentage (45.9%), and 3-point field goal percentage (39.9%) while averaging a career-high 33.4 minutes per game. He doubled his points per game average this season after 9.4 in a bench role with Minnesota.
Atlanta holds a 2-1 lead on the New York Knicks as the sixth-seed in the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series over the New York Knicks after winning Game 3, 109-108, at home on Thursday night. He had a big steal in Atlanta's Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night that set up the game-winning basket with 10 seconds left. After winning the award, the 6-foot-5 Alexander-Walker got emotional when talking with reporters.
"It really validates my feelings," said Alexander-Walker, who looked like he was holding back tears at times while talking to reporters on Friday. "Sometimes I think everyone's been through that where they feel something and other people might not, and they might not see it yet. And it's kind of like that told you moment to not make you feel crazy. And a lot of times this game has made me feel delusional and just the beliefs that I had ... honestly, it [hasn't] set in. I go from moments of where I'm ready to break down in tears and then I'm just ready to just scream and just be happy."
Atlanta will host New York in Game 4 on Saturday night.
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