Alexander-Walker more than just ‘the other rookie’
The New Orleans Pelicans didn’t just get Zion Williamson during the draft, they also acquired the player taken at No. 17 overall in 6’5″ shooting guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Alexander-Walker came to the Pelicans in the same trade with the Atlanta Hawks that brought in No. 8 overall pick Jaxson Hayes and sent fourth overall pick De’Andre Hunter and journeyman Solomon Hill to the ATL.
Alexander-Walker played two years at Virginia Tech, starting all 67 games he was involved in. His first season was respectable, but his second season is what propelled him into the top 20 come draft time.
During his first year, he dished out a total of 49 assists, grabbed a total of 127 rebounds while dropping 352 points. His shooting splits were respectable also, hitting 44.9 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from deep and 73 percent from the line.
Returning for his second season saw him explode, he went off as a playmaker by almost tripling his assist totals dropping 135 dimes. Rebounding was slightly improved at 139 in total, but at his position, this was not his primary focus.
Shooting, however, was part of that focus, and he succeeded by dropping an extra 198 points than the year before — taking his points total to the year to 550.
Sources: New Orleans has selected Nickeil Alexander-Walker with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2019
Alexander-Walker projects to be a solid rotation piece during his rookie season, capable of contributing on offense either as a primary scorer of facilitator when coming off the bench. Having shown his willingness to improve during his collegiate career, it should be safe to assume he will continue in that manner at the next level.
While he may not make an immediate impact on team success this season, the Pelicans have added a solid young scorer/playmaker to its roster for the foreseeable future.