The 2025-26 season hasn’t gotten off to the start that either the New Orleans Pelicans' front office or the fan base expected. The Pels are the Western Conference's worst 3-18 and show no signs that a turnaround could be coming. Constant injuries, a poorly constructed roster, and the Western Conference just being too stacked have all contributed to this horrific start.
And if the product the Pelicans are putting on the court isn’t causing fans enough pain and frustration, they are now forced to watch yet another former player thrive elsewhere.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker is turning into the player fans knew he always could be in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks. It was hard enough seeing [NAW develop into this unreal](https://pelicandebrief.com/pelicans-forced-to-watch-as-hawks-sign-player-they-should-ve-never-traded) three-and-D wing that was a key in the Timberwolves making back-to-back conference finals, but it’s even harder now with him leveling up again.
To start the 2025-26 season, Alexander-Walker has been averaging 20.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game on an efficient 46.2 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three.
For me, though, the numbers aren’t telling the whole story because the tools that NAW is flashing are the same ones that had fans excited when the Pelicans drafted him back in 2019.
The way NAW’s developed is so unique.
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During his time in New Orleans, he was a raw, crafty guard who could get to his spots and create offense but struggled to convert. Then he bounced around a bit, ending up in Minnesota, where they asked him to space the floor and defend two things he wasn’t great at, but he worked hard and became one of the league's premier three-and-D players. This led him to sign with Atlanta this past offseason, where he was expected to bring the same skillset he developed in Minnesota.
But then Trae Young went down with an injury, and he saw an opportunity to return to the style of play he had in New Orleans. But this time, he was ready because of how he developed with the Timberwolves.
Alexander-Walker's issue in New Orleans was never that he wasn’t skilled enough to be a top-tier guard, but it was that he didn’t have enough talent. He always had a handle—he always could get to the rim and run a pick and roll, but he just wasn’t talented enough or efficient enough to have that style of play translate to winning. It took him time, but he is now finally finding a way to play his game while still impacting winning.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker's career development should be enough to make a Pelicans fan shed a tear of joy. But instead, he’s just another painful reminder for fans of another young player that got away.