From the moment the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Ayo Dosunmu, it was easy to compare him to Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Both players are versatile guards who serve a crucial bench role when the Wolves are at full strength.
Of course, Alexander-Walker had a breakout season after leaving the Wolves. Last season, with the Atlanta Hawks, he boosted his averages from 9.4 points to 20.8 points en route to a Most Improved Player award. Ayo clearly filled the production Alexander-Walker provided with the Wolves. In fact, averaging 14.4 points, he was a more productive scorer than NAW was during his final year in Minnesota.
Still, the frustrating part about losing Alexander-Walker was that the Wolves unknowingly lost someone who could scale up to an All-Star level. Thankfully, Dosunmu is proving that he can also scale up. He flashed this potential at times last season, including posting a 43-point game in the playoffs.
More importantly, this season he is showing that he can sustain this success. In the eight games without Anthony Edwards, Dosunmu is averaging 21.1 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 53.3/47.5/95.7 shooting splits. Those are All-Star-like numbers, and much like NAW, he's still providing an all-around impact.
Ayo Dosunmu and Nickeil Alexander-Walker share some similarities
I want to clear up a few things. Firstly, Ayo's numbers won't be as eye-popping when the Wolves are at full strength. Likewise, Alexander-Walker would never have reached these heights in Minnesota.
Regardless, it was easy for the Wolves to kick themselves after losing an All-Star-level player, but Dosunmu scaling up has fully erased their NAW blunder.
Plus, as noted earlier, their all-around skill sets are versatile scorers, connective playmakers, and gritty perimeter defenders are similar. Now, they are slightly different players. Most notably, Dosunmu is a better finisher and downhill attacker, while Alexander-Walker is a better defender.
In any event, having a versatile guard who can thrive with stars or scale up into star-level production is a massive advantage. When the Wolves are healthy, Dosunmu will play off-ball more often. He can thrive doing so due to his 3-point shot chops. Nevertheless, his ability to attack closeouts and run in transition will ensure that he still gets to the rim a ton.
Furthermore, if Anthony Edwards or LaMelo Ball is struggling, then Dosunmu can take over as a true shot creator. The dynamic backcourt of Edwards and Ball, paired with the forward duo of Jaden McDaniels and Jonathan Kuminga, is enough to give opposing teams headaches. Add in a versatile guard who can consistently score 20-plus if the opportunity calls for it, and stopping the Wolves becomes that much harder.
Dosunmu's creation makes the Wolves' offense much more dangerous, and he offers some fantastic complementary skills. Versatile guards like this are super valuable in a winning context. Timberwolves fans should be familiar with this given Alexander-Walker's impact on back-to-back conference finals runs.
Ultimately, while Dosunmu was always billed as the Alexander-Walker replacement, he is fully living up to this prophecy by scaling up.
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