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Ohm Youngmisuk
More than one Authors
Nickeil Alexander-Walker used to be named this season’s Maximum Advanced Participant on Friday, marking the second one directly Atlanta Hawks participant to win the award.
Alexander-Walker averaged a career-high 20.8 issues, 3.7 assists and three.4 rebounds to move with 1.3 steals. He additionally averaged profession highs in blocks, box function proportion and 3-point box function proportion.
The 6-foot-5 guard greater his scoring by way of 11.4 issues after averaging 9.4 issues coming off the bench for the Minnesota Timberwolves all through the 2024-25 season. That’s the third-highest build up from one season to the following over the last 25 years.
“It in reality validates my emotions,” mentioned the Hawks guard, who seemed like he used to be retaining again tears every now and then whilst chatting with journalists on Friday. “Occasionally I believe everybody’s been thru that the place they really feel one thing and other folks may no longer, and they won’t see it but. And it is more or less like that advised you second not to make you are feeling loopy. And numerous instances this sport has made me really feel delusional and simply the ideals that I had … truthfully, it [hasn’t] set in. I am going from moments of the place I am in a position to wreck down in tears after which I am simply in a position to simply scream and simply be at liberty.”
Alexander-Walker now has some {hardware} so as to add to a circle of relatives that incorporates cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma Town‘s MVP and Finals MVP.
“You need to make the circle of relatives proud,” Alexander-Walker mentioned. “If you end up Shai’s cousin, numerous instances you get known as Shai’s cousin. And so now being identified for being Nickeil Alexander-Walker feels nice. I communicate to Shai always… [he’s] my brother and my dual, and I could not be to any extent further proud for any individual’s good fortune. To be able to know that he is in my nook and rooting for me the similar approach… all of the ones issues in reality resonate.”
Alexander-Walker follows teammate Dyson Daniels, who gained the award final season. That is the primary time within the award’s historical past that two directly winners have come from the similar workforce.
In his 7th season, Alexander-Walker thrived with the Hawks. The guard advised ESPN early within the season that he had a couple of suitors in loose company however selected the Hawks after former Atlanta level guard Trae Younger recruited him.
When Younger suffered a knee harm early within the season and used to be then traded to Washington, Alexander-Walker helped the Hawks stay a playoff workforce. He scored in double figures in 76 video games and made 251 3-pointers in 2025-26, a single-season franchise file and fourth maximum within the league this season.
“I believe it used to be the chance that I used to be given and the mindset of simply I’ve to benefit from it,” Alexander-Walker mentioned. “Via other instances of my profession, while you get one thing like this, you were given to take hold of it by way of the horns and simply take it for the trip and simply anywhere it is going, I used to be putting on for pricey lifestyles, nonetheless am and nonetheless will likely be.”