Hawks’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s Raw Reaction to NBA Award
After a breakout season, Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has earned the NBA’s 2025-26 Most Improved Player award.
Alexander-Walker is coming off putting together a career-best campaign where he averaged a career-high 20.8 points along with 3.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals while shooting career-high marks with 45.9 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Want $250 to bet on NBA futures?
The 27-year-old proved to be worth every bit of the four-year, $62 million deal that he inked last offseason with the Hawks. He quickly stepped into a prominent offensive role and excelled while cementing himself as a key core piece of their young core group.
After receiving the award, Alexander-Walker voiced his heartfelt appreciation for the league recognition.
“It really validates my feelings,” said the Hawks guard via ESPN. “Sometimes I think everyone’s been through that where they feel something and other people might not, and they might not see it yet. And it’s kind of like that told you moment to not make you feel crazy. And a lot of times this game has made me feel delusional and just the beliefs that I had … honestly, it [hasn’t] set in.
“I go from moments of where I’m ready to break down in tears, and then I’m just ready to just scream and just be happy.”
The 2025-26 season has been an encouraging year for the Hawks, who have put themselves in a promising position even after the mid-season trade of All-Star point guard Trae Young that saw them earn a playoff berth.
