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Wolves Secure the Eighth Spot Behind "X Factor" Alexander-Walker, Nickeil

Posted : 19 April 2023
He had been instructed to "just be ready" by Minnesota Timberwolves players and coaches earlier on Friday morning for their play-in game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Alexander-Walker assumed it to be simple pre-game conversation.

He was aware that he would be facing off against his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a known foe, but he was unaware of the implications of that: He would be starting.

"This morning at shootaround, there's my name on the clip with the matchups and I finally put it together," Alexander-Walker said.

Alexander-Walker defeated his cousin on Friday night in a rematch of an encounter the two had numerous times growing up, helping the Timberwolves to a resounding victory that won them the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a score of 120-95.

Alexander-Walker contributed to keeping Gilgeous-Alexander to a season-low 5-of-19 shooting (26.3 percent) from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns answered the question about Alexander-performance Walker's without hesitation.

"X factor," Towns said. "He's the reason we won. He went out there and had a very, very tough job tonight to guard Shai, who's been fantastic this whole year and one of the best scorers in the league. And to go out there and do what he did is the reason we won. There's no other way to put it."

Alexander-Walker claimed that as it became clear that he would be making his first start of the year for the Timberwolves, he sought to step back.

"I was just so thankful for that opportunity to start and then have that assignment to guard him," Alexander-Walker said. "It's a little different than any other game. This is someone I grew up with my whole life. As far as people, he knows me better than anybody and he knows me better than anybody I could say."

Gilgeous-Alexander is older than the cousins, who are both 24 years old and were born just 52 days apart, but they have not competed against one another much on an NBA level. In actuality, up until Friday night, Alexander-Walker had faced just 27 half-court matches with his cousin throughout his four NBA seasons, holding him to a 3-of-11 shooting performance.

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