NickeilAlexander-Walker

Preseason question: NAW won Most Improved Player last season by merging his two NBA selves: He put up points like the scoring guard he came into the league as while still getting after it defensively like the 3-and-D wing he later became. In Alexander-Walker’s first season in Atlanta, he more than doubled his scoring average from his last season in Minnesota and maintained his sterling 3-point percentage while nearly doubling his rate of attempts. The big question from here is how much more he has to give. His shooting success is very real, as he’s canned over 39 percent of his nearly 10 3s a game over the past four seasons (strung between three different teams), but the lion’s share of his looks came off a pass rather than being self-created. Will a promising Hawks team in need of supplementary ballhandling keep tapping into Alexander-Walker’s latent talent, or will the deepest bench of wings in the Eastern Conference create too much competition for opportunities? We’ll learn this season whether Alexander-Walker’s growth is foundational to the future of the Hawks or more of a bonus to his defined role.