2026-27 Atlanta Hawks Player Preview: Nickeil Alexander-walker

Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s debut season with the Atlanta Hawks was one that could only be described as resounding success. Embracing a larger role compared to the one he saw with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Alexander-Walker raised his scoring output 9.4 points to 20.8 points per game en route to winning the NBA’s Most Improve Player Award. From his scoring — on which the Hawks learned to depend on quickly — including fourth quarter takeovers, to his defensive intensity, Alexander-Walker established himself as one of the most important players of the 2025-26 Hawks.

It was the first time in Alexander-Walker’s career that he has taken on a much larger role, an adjustment that Alexander-Walker is better prepared for this season. Alexander-Walker scored the team’s most total points, while also playing the most minutes of all Hawks last season with 2603 minutes across 78 games.

“I think the recovery part (is important),” said Alexander-Walker when about his expected high minutes this season. “Doing just as much off the court as I do on the court has taken a leap of saying. I’m going to be more diligent with rest, I’m going to be more diligent with days on or days off… The best ability is availability, and now I’m learning and feeling what a high intensity season is with my minutes and the such.”

It was also a role, as described by Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, that wasn’t necessarily planned for originally but became what the team needed as the season unfolded.

“I think my expectation for Nickeil was a player who puts the team first and is going to compete, and we saw him do that night in, night out.” said Snyder. “He is one of the guys whose role consistently evolved throughout the course of the season. If you recall, the Nickeil we had in November evolved when we had some injuries, the Nickeil we had in December evolved when we had trades. I think Nickeil’s ability to find out what the team needs and to provide that I think is a calling card of his.”

While the postseason didn’t see Alexander-Walker replicate that regular season success, little changes in terms of his role going forward. Heading into his second season, while the Hawks have seen roster changes around the fringes, they will depend on Alexander-Walker’s play on both sides of the ball; to be a leader on both sides of the ball. The player that can take the opposing team’s best offensive wing, while also bearing a scoring burden that the Hawks need filled. Alexander-Walker scored the team’s most total points, while also playing the most minutes of all Hawks last season with 2603 minutes across 78 games.

When looking at Alexander-Walker’s shotchart from last season, there’s not a ton you’d look at and say that needs improving:

You can see Alexander-Walker’s preferred side shooting the ball, and if it isn’t above average, Alexander-Walker’s shooting slightly above or just below league average in many other zones. His corner shooting is excellent and far-exceeds league average shooting.

If you had to choose an area of the court that Alexander-Walker could improve upon, you could say you’d like to see his finishing at the rim creep above league average, and his shooting from the right-slot at a higher clip than 32.7%. This is nit-picking, to be frank, because if Alexander-Walker can replicate his shooting percentages from last season (including 39% from three on over eight attempts) it would be a successful season.

The key to Alexander-Walker’s continued success with the Hawks is being able to translate what he did in the regular season to the NBA playoffs. Against the Knicks, Alexander-Walker was limited to 13.7 points on 38% shooting from the field, one of the keys to the Hawks’ eventual defeat to the eventual champions in six games.

The 2026 playoffs were Alexander-Walker’s first taste of the postseason as a leading scorer, and has taken his lessons from that series going forward, and what he worked on over the summer.

“Just getting stronger, being a better playmaker,” said Alexander-Walker of what he worked on over the summer. “In the Knicks series they did good job when I was off-ball. How do I be better while being off-ball and facing top-locks and physicality and teams being up? I feel the game is slowing down for me even more, understanding how to be effective, almost in the sense of the art of war. Using the opponent’s pressure against them, using it to my advantage, sometimes allowing physicality and the different things I learned this summer to set the tone and not necessarily get side-tracked from what’s the most important thing. It can turn into an internal battle: you know you’re not at your best and the only thing you can think about is trying to be at your best. I’ve learned that it’s about trying to figure it out. Driving manual has taught me that. When you get caught on that hill, you’ve got to figure it out. The small things I’ve done this summer to help me mentally as well as skill: shooting off the dribble, getting to the paint, decision-making, getting comfortable in the mid-range as well.”

Snyder also identified Alexander-Walker’s focus on making those around him better.

“As you look at his game, he’s someone who embraces the opportunity to improve,” said Snyder. “I think that can take many different forms. When you embrace something, usually you have success doing it . That versatility he has as a player, and also as a teammate, I think is foundational part of our identity. Nickeil more than anybody, he’s lived it: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. His focus is on making the people around him better.”

Alexander-Walker will once again play a starring role on both sides of the ball on a team which hopes to make an automatic playoff berth and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with within the Eastern Conference…