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Virginia Tech Hokies guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has impressed throughout the 2018-19 college basketball season. He’s played a huge role in the team’s success and helping the Hokies land a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. The sophomore guard’s play has also resulted in his 2019 NBA Draft stock increasing quite a bit, and he’s currently projected as a first-round pick in the eyes of many analysts.
After a freshman season in which Alexander-Walker averaged 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists, he’s improved across the board. The 6-foot-5 guard has posted marks of 16.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. He’s also showcased his ability to step out and knock down shots beyond the arc, shooting 38.6 percent over his first 66 collegiate games.
We’re going to breakdown the latest mock drafts and projections for the Virginia Tech guard as the draft draws closer.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker NBA Draft Projections & Mocks
There are a number of interesting mock drafts, but one specifically gives a decent amount of love to Alexander-Walker. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has him coming off the board at No. 16 to the Detroit Pistons. This projects him to be selected ahead of a few big names such as UNC’s Nassir Little (No. 17), Kentucky’s PJ Washington (19) and fellow guard in Duke’s Tre Jones (24).
Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo has Walker-Alexander pegged as the No. 20 overall pick and heading to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He details the belief that the Virginia Tech guard would play well alongside Thunder star Russell Westbrook as a selling point.
Most have come to realize that Alexander-Walker profiles best as a two who can play off of a downhill-oriented playmaking ballhandler. With that in mind, he’d be a nice fit playing off of Russell Westbrook, which would create opportunities for him to attack defenses off ball rotation and remove the pressure to anchor possessions.
A first-round outlook is realistic and makes a lot of sense based on his ability to do a bit of everything. Beyond that, Alexander-Walker’s size should transition well to the NBA level and give him a chance to succeed wherever he lands.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s NBA Draft Big Board Outlook
With Alexander-Walker flirting with the potential to become a lottery pick, ESPN’s “best available” pegs him slightly lower than the above mock drafts. While they have the Hokies standout as one of the top-25 prospects, he comes in at No. 22. This outlook places him behind Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura (No. 18), Kentucky’s Tyler Herro (20) and UNC’s Cameron Johnson (21), among a handful of other talented names.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, NBADraft.net offers one of the most up-to-date big boards and gives Alexander-Walker an impressive outlook. They currently have the guard pushing for a spot in the top-10 and sitting at No. 12 while continuing to trend in the right direction.
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