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Nickeil Alexander-Walker is the 2025-26 Most Improved Player, the NBA declared on Friday. Alexander-Walker won the award over fellow finalists Deni Avdija and Jalen Duren. Interestingly, Avdija and Duren were first-time All-Stars this season, while Alexander-Walker was not. Seven of the past nine winners were first-time All-Star selections, but for the second straight year following Dyson Daniels’ win last season, a member of the Atlanta Hawks has bucked that trend.

Daniels, at least, was a former lottery pick whose potential was well-documented. Alexander-Walker’s ascent to Most Improved Player was far less anticipated. Alexander-Walker was the No. 17 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but after two-and-a-half years in New Orleans, he was dealt to Portland in the CJ McCollum trade. Only a day later, he was shipped off again, this time to Utah. The Jazz kept him for roughly a year before sending him to Minnesota, seemingly as an afterthought in a larger deal involving Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook.

Though his scoring numbers went down in Minnesota, he reinvented himself as a star reserve defender, and after making just 32.9% of his 3-pointers in his first three seasons, he shot 38.4% from deep with the Wolves. At that point, he had seemingly carved out a career-long niche as a 3-and-D role player, but Minnesota, facing a second apron crunch, ultimately elected to re-sign Naz Reid and Julius Randle over Alexander-Walker in the summer of 2025.

Minnesota’s loss was Atlanta’s gain. Though Alexander-Walker was initially signed to be a defensive-minded backup behind Trae Young, an early injury to Young opened the door for Alexander-Walker to become a core piece for the Hawks. His defense never missed a beat, but he more than doubled his scoring from 9.4 to 20.8 points per game while also racking up a career-high 3.7 assists per game. Alexander-Walker’s growth partially informed Atlanta’s decision to trade Young, and with Alexander-Walker among their centerpieces, the Hawks made the playoffs as the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed.

Alexander-Walker may not have made the All-Star Team, but his improvement makes it a genuine possibility in the years to come. His growth from a solid backup into a core player has helped push the Hawks from Play-In cannon fodder to real, long-term Eastern Conference threat.