Nickeil Alexander-Walker has quietly gone from “Oh yeah, that guy” to “Uhh yeah… he can drop 30 any day.”

A standout for the Virginia Tech Hokies, NAW entered the 2019 draft as an intriguing first-round prospect. He ultimately went 17th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans, a landing spot that seemed full of opportunity at the time.

But things didn’t work out in the Big Easy – at least not right away. Some even labeled him a bust after a rough rookie season, where he averaged just 5.7 points on a brutal 34.6% shooting. While his numbers improved in the years that followed, including a stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves where he carved out a role as a solid defensive wing, he was still largely seen as… just another guy.

Well, fast forward to just under a year, and it’s been a heck of a turn.

The 27-year-old has found something in the ATL. Since landing with the Atlanta Hawks this past off-season, NAW has gone from complementary piece to central figure. Opportunity played a big role – Trae Young going down early cracked the door open, and his eventual departure blew it wide open.

What’s stood out isn’t just the numbers, but the confidence. He’s hunting shots now. He’s attacking mismatches. He’s playing like someone who knows he belongs – having Jalen Johnson emerge as an All-Star-caliber forward hasn’t hurt either. With defenses forced to account for Johnson, Alexander-Walker is getting cleaner looks and more room to operate, and he’s making opponents pay.

The production jump says it all. Through 65 games, he’s putting up 20.3 points per night, a massive leap of 11 points from his previous norms, while logging career-high minutes – with that sample size, it’s beyond a random hot streak.

On March 17, NAW added more to his breakout campaign, dropping career-highs 41 points and nine threes in a 124-112 win over the Orlando Magic. Pull-ups, catch-and-shoot looks, and tough makes late in the clock, and just smooth basketball overall, pretty much how he looked in Virginia Tech.

The win also pushed Atlanta to its 10th straight, the franchise’s longest streak since the 2014-15 season. Not bad for a team that has exude mediocrity over the last few seasons.

While the Most Improved Player conversation has mostly centered on Detroit Pistons’ double-double machine big man Jalen Duren, NAW is right there whether people are talking about it or not. Going from defensive role guy to 20-point scorer on a surging team? That deserves more than a passing mention.

More importantly, this could all be happening at the perfect time. The Hawks sit at 37-31, good for eighth in the East, and suddenly don’t feel stuck in the play-in picture. With the way they’re rolling – and with NAW playing like this, that climb up the standings feels very real.

It’s always a treat to see someone crawl out of obscurity, and it’s an added bonus that he’s such a simple, fun player to watch. We’ll see just how far he can take this surge.