When you are a high-level professional athlete, it can be easy at times to feel some sort of a sense of entitlement. After all, why would you not? You are the top 0.1% at your craft, and few can say they have reached the heights you have in their careers. If you are an NBA player, you were once the best player at your school, in your city, and possibly in your state as well.
Every guy in the NBA was "the man" at one point, the person everyone in their hometown came out to watch at high school games. So naturally, when you make it to the NBA, it can be a change of pace to see just how talented everyone else is, even for the best players.
Minnesota Timberwolves fans are well aware of just how much basketball talent is on their team's roster, especially when you view it from this perspective. While there are not any uncontrolled egos or serious locker room problems in Minnesota, some guys probably have a more pronounced and mature perspective when it comes to humbling themselves and embracing a role, and that is not a knock on anyone else.
One of those guys would appear to be Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Speaking after the Timberwolves' practice on Wednesday, NAW showed a rare maturity and humble attitude when discussing his role and how he approaches earning the opportunity to be in the closing lineup.
Thought this was a great answer from Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the correct mentality to have about earning the opportunity to close games.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) December 11, 2024
"If you wanna play, you gotta effect winning. For me, that's what I've learned. The best way to make sure I'm out there is 'how do I… pic.twitter.com/YjKBKWeoXe
NAW has the complete winning mentality
"If you want to play, you've got to affect winning. For me, that's what I've learned," said Alexander-Walker. "The best way to make sure I'm out there, is how do I affect the team in a positive way? And that's one of the things that I've been hanging my hat on. Whether I leave the game with 20, 15, 30, however many odd minutes I would play is, did I affect winning? Did I make the right play? Am I playing basketball the right way? I trust that when you do things like that, it will turn back in your favor."
Wow, is this a breath of fresh air to hear from one of the Wolves' best role players. Certainly not every player in the NBA is able or willing to humble themselves in this way, but the players that do, like Nickeil, are the types of guys coaches love, because they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they value winning above all.
When asked if he is surprised more players do not take this mental approach, Alexander-Walker stated that he is not due to the background all these players come from. "Not really, because you have guys that are coming from ... Like, everyone here at some point in time was 'the guy.' Whether they started with a cinderella story, eventually they became a guy, and it got to this point.
"So I can understand why people maybe hold on to that ego, so to speak. Just because they know who they are, they know what they're capable of. But Mike said this the other day: what got you here won't get you there. And it's just an understanding."
NAW is already beloved by the Timberwolves fanbase for his tenacious defense and timely three-point shooting, among other things. But hearing him take such a measured and thoughtful approach to his role and how the coaching staff utilizes him is refreshing, and should only strengthen the love between he and fans in Minnesota.