When the bars open back up in New Orleans, here’s a trivia question you can use to stump your basketball-loving friends: Among current Pelicans players besides Zion Williamson (24.5 ppg), who has the highest career scoring average as an NBA starter? Surprisingly, the answer isn’t 2020 All-Star forward Brandon Ingram (19.0). It’s not proven veteran guards Eric Bledsoe (16.6), JJ Redick (16.2) or Lonzo Ball (11.5), either. Granted, he’s only started five times in his brief NBA career, but the correct response to that query is actually second-year guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (21.4), who’s consistently delivered when asked to join New Orleans’ first string.
The latest example was Alexander-Walker’s 20-point Sunday afternoon in Denver, a vital aspect of New Orleans’ 113-108 victory. With Ball a game-time decision, then ruled out not long before tip-off, Alexander-Walker stepped into a starting role for the fourth time in 2020-21 and continued to demonstrate a knack for seizing upon his opportunities.
The No. 17 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft from Virginia Tech, Alexander-Walker has shot 58 percent from the field and 45 percent from three-point range in his handful of career starts. In the NBA bubble last August, he racked up 29 points in his first pro start vs. Orlando; his first start of 2020-21 saw him erupt for 37 points on national TV against the Clippers.
“He’s always ready when his number is called,�� Williamson said. “He’s been in this position before, and he’s showed out before. Nickeil doing this, we expect that from him, because we know how great he can be.”
“If you look, when he knows he’s going to get big minutes, he plays better, as most people do,” head coach Stan Van Gundy said after Alexander-Walker shot 8/15 against the Nuggets. “He relaxes a little. He’s not forcing the action, he’s more under control. When his minutes are (less), he was pressing hard and trying to prove (himself), not making as good a decision. I thought tonight he was under control and made good decisions. That was the key to how he played.”
The 22-year-old’s challenge now is to parlay his effectiveness as a starter into other situations, which isn’t easy for any player whose role fluctuates. Among the Pelicans’ 42 games this season, Alexander-Walker now has the four starts, eight DNPs and nine other games in which he’s logged less than 10 minutes of action. He’s shot 36 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range in 76 career games off the bench.
“You’re not really looking over your shoulder,” Alexander-Walker said of starting, compared to being a reserve. “You’re able to play with, in a sense, no conscience, because you’re just thinking about the game. You’re not thinking about what can come if you make a decision that doesn’t pan out the way you intended it. I’m trying to trust myself, so that even when I don’t start, I can still come off the bench and provide effective things.”
Overall, Alexander-Walker has made tangible strides, bumping his overall scoring average from 5.7 to 8.9, while improving his shooting percentage from 37 to 42 percent. His three-point accuracy has dipped a bit (from 35 to 32 percent), though, despite going 11/23 there as a starter.
“I give him so much credit (improving) from last year to this year,” teammate Josh Hart said. “Sometimes his minutes are up and down. Sometimes he might play five minutes and other times he might play 25. He makes an impact every game... Having someone who can make impact on short notice is great for us. It speaks to his maturity level and his character. We’re lucky to have him on the team.”
Alexander-Walker already has 13 double-digit scoring games in 2020-21, compared to nine his entire rookie campaign. He says the progress he’s making has resulted partly from more time on the court.
“It’s starting to come to me now, just because of experience,” the Toronto area native said. “Experience is life’s greatest teacher and I think that’s what’s really happening for me. Being able to play through mistakes, learn from mistakes, watch the game, talk to (Ingram and Ball), the coaching staff, is helping.”
“Nickeil has made a major leap in confidence from his rookie year to now,” said Williamson, who quickly became friends with Alexander-Walker prior to their NBA debuts. “There are times when he’ll make a mistake and beat himself up about it more than he needs to, and it messes with his mental (outlook). Now when his number’s called, he goes out there and plays his game. That’s what we need from him.”