TORONTO, Ont. (October 23, 2019) - In a season where a record 20 Canadians are on NBA rosters, Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the first to officially play in the 2019-20 NBA season when the New Orleans Pelicans took on the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. Though the Pelicans fell to the Raptors 130-122 in overtime, it was still a night to remember for the Toronto native who got to kick off his NBA career in front of friends and family at Scotiabank Arena.

Earlier in the day, Alexander-Walker spoke with a throng of reporters following the Pelicans morning shootaround. After getting up extra shots and then joking around with Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry, Alexander-Walker finally left the court and bypassed the media to walk up the stands and greet a pair of familiar faces watching in the arena. Though he was staying in the team hotel while in the city and not home with his family, getting to begin his career with more than 60 members of his friends and family in the stands that night, and on a night where the hometown Raptors were receiving their NBA Championship rings, obviously meant the world to him.

“Playing your first NBA game at home, you couldn’t write this,” he said. “You can’t make this up. For me to have that experience, I’m truly honoured and blessed.”

While the 21-year-old out of Virginia Tech has impressed on the court since being drafted 17th overall, posting averages of 24.3 points and 6.0 assists during Summer League and 15.4 points and 4.0 assists (while shooting 46 percent from beyond the arc in preseason), his poise and preparation off the floor have also captured the attention of those around him.

“I think he plays like a veteran guy,” Gentry said. “He’s a really smart basketball player. He’s been solid. He’s an extremely hard-working kid. He works on his craft, he’s not just out there, he works on the things he needs to get better at and he asks questions, he watches a lot of film and I think he’s one of those kids who has got a real bright future in this league.”

Raptors and Team Canada head coach Nick Nurse agreed with Gentry, mentioning Alexander-Walker’s strong preseason when talking about the Pelicans pre-game.

“Nickeil looks great, he said. “He’s shooting 46 percent from three in the preseason. For a rookie, that’s amazing, that he’s adjusting to the deep line so well.”

For Alexander-Walker, getting mentioned by the opposing coach is confirmation that the tireless work he’s put in is paying off.

“I feel like I've earned the right to be here,” he said. “Respectfully so, and humbly so, being drafted, all my hard work, the time I've put into it, it makes no sense for me to be afraid in the moment.

“You’ve got to be prepared,” he continued. “It’s like the best of the best [in the NBA] so when you’re on a [team’s] radar, everything you do must be on your p’s and q’s. Just coming in, being as professional as I can be with my time and my minutes, I’ve got to be efficient. Whatever that is, coming off the bench, trying to help the team win.”

Though Alexander-Walker’s NBA career is just getting started, he’s had a valuable resource available for advice and words of wisdom in cousin and fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who plays in Oklahoma City with the Thunder.

“It’s really, really key [to have someone you can go to for advice] because when you make it here, it’s like your circle becomes so vital,” Alexander-Walker said. “Who you surround yourself with becomes so important. A lot of guys don't have that. I’m fortunate to have somebody that has been through it and someone that is close to me that I can rely on and know that his interests are for me and my best interests. It kind of plays out well and just, when I look at everything that I have in my life, I have to say that I’m blessed.”

In addition to his cousin, Alexander-Walker also mentioned his mother and grandmother when asked how he’s been able to enter the league as a rookie who already seems light-years ahead with respect to preparation and work ethic.

“My mom, every day she works two jobs, and so to see her get up every day and do the same thing over and over again, and my grandmother, just constantly instilling God in me, the work ethic that I have comes from them and knowing that every day I’ve got to do it,” he said. “It’s not going to be given to me, it never was, and so for me it’s almost fun now. I kind of want to come in now, I want to do the things that no one wants to do just because it’s made me who I am.”

Though Alexander-Walker didn’t get to begin his NBA career with a victory in game 1, he did get a special moment of recognition on the jumbotron at Scotiabank Arena. Midway through the third quarter during a timeout, a Canada Basketball "Hometown Heroes" segment played featuring Alexander-Walker. As the crowd gave a nice ovation and teammate Jaxon Hayes gave an appreciative tap to his chest, Alexander-Walker quickly saluted the crowd in recognition before immediately returning his focus to Gentry’s instruction. Despite the final score, Alexander-Walker walked off the Scotiabank Arena floor officially an NBA player, his NBA dream having just begun.

“It’s all paid off, he said of everything it took to get to this moment dating back to childhood. “Drawing like, foul lines in my house, on the floor, doing things kids probably shouldn’t have done, Now, to know all my hard work has paid off? It’s relieving. And now we can just laugh at those stories. Look back and enjoy the time, kind of embrace everything.”

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