Nickeil Alexander-Walker is playing free and shining for Wolves

There's no better example than his standout play in the final minutes of Friday's win over the Nuggets.

Minnesota Timberwolves guards Anthony Edwards (5) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker celebrate a win over the Denver Nuggets as the final buzzer sounds at Target Center in Minneapolis on Nov. 1, 2024. / Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Mike Conley first met Nickeil Alexander-Walker when they were teammates on the Utah Jazz.

As a young guy on a good team at the time, there were few opportunities on the court for Alexander-Walker. It created frustrations for Alexander-Walker, and Conley remembers him being upset in the locker room about not playing.

“I’m like, ‘Man, I swear to you bro, if you just keep doing what you’re doing.’ He was getting in at 7 a.m. and not leaving until like 3, and stretching, yoga, all this stuff,” Conley said. “Like, ‘You stay consistent like this, I guarantee you’re gonna get an opportunity, and you can take advantage of it.’” 

That's exactly what happened the Timberwolves acquired Conley and Alexander-Walker from the Jazz. Alexander-Walker quickly developed into a key role player in Minnesota, and he's only continued to improve since he put on a Wolves jersey.

There was no better example the impact Alexander-Walker has made for the Wolves than Friday night's 119-116 win over the Denver Nuggets. In the final three minutes of the game, Alexander-Walker made two 3-pointers, got two steals and knocked down a pair of clutch free throws as the Wolves rallied from a 10-point deficit to pull out an unlikely victory.

"He’s just such a multi-effort player," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said of Alexander-Walker after the game. "He’s got really good defensive instincts; he gets his hands on a lot of things. Offensively, we trust him to make big shots, and he also gives us another handler out there, which is a bonus, too.”

Finch's history with Alexander-Walker also dates back further than his days in Minnesota. Finch was the associate head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans when Alexander-Walker was drafted to New Orleans in 2019. Finch remembers his struggles early in his career, seeing a player who was fixated on doing things a certain way to the point he couldn't listen.

"(Alexander-Walker) has a tendency to overthink, and when he overthinks things, he gets hard on himself, so a lot of the honesty that we have is just getting back to basics and reminding him how he has been so successful for us," Finch said before the home opener against the Toronto Raptors.

Alexander-Walker spent this offseason working to improve at the point guard position as the Wolves didn't have another true point guard on the roster behind Conley. But a blockbuster trade of Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks brought in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, giving the Wolves more players who can handle the ball. Playing the one was still Alexander-Walker's focus in the preseason, but Finch eventually asked him to get back to what he's best at.

"He’s smart, as soon as you have that conversation, it clicks," Finch said. "But a few years ago, it wouldn’t. He would fight you because he just wanted it so bad.”

Alexander-Walker has excelled during the regular season, and Finch said after Friday night's win that he's played some of the best and most consistent basketball on the team. That led to Finch playing Alexander-Walker in crunch time Friday, and even calling plays for him, an opportunity that Alexander-Walker made the most of, leading the Wolves to the win.

“In the fourth, especially, it means a lot," Alexander-Walker said of Finch calling his number. "And me and Finchy have come a long way. And I’ll take anything I can get, so for me, it’s definitely like a, you know, like a passing of the torch or something. Like we transcended into another level. I mean at the end of the day, it’s just about winning as well."

Conley saw the work Alexander-Walker put in with the Jazz, and he's continued to see him develop with the Wolves. Part of that development has been in his mindset. Conley described Alexander-Walker as a perfectionist, but one who's been able to taper it down, forget about the mistakes and focus on the next play. It's allowed Alexander-Walker to play free.

He played free Friday night, coming up with crucial stops and scoring all eight of his points in the most meaningful minutes of the game. Alexander-Walker also posted a game-best plus-minus of plus-27.

“(Friday) was one of the first days in a while like I had no nerves going into that game," Alexander-Walker said. "I was like a little worried about it because I’m like, I don’t want to just come out all calm and act lackadaisical, but it’s just I can really feel the trust in my work and the trust that I have in my faith in God. For me, I had to stop worrying about the result because each day is consistent for me, and it's probably the most focused and driven I’ve been in my life for a bigger purpose outside of myself and my family.”