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<\/p>\nPart of the rise in numbers was in part to a rise in minutes; he logged 2,603 this season, 530 more than his previous career best. That said, he earned those minutes \u2014 the 251 3-pointers, 277 free throws made, 40 per cent clip from 3-point range and 90 per cent clip from the foul line all were his best.<\/p>\n
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In the first year of a four-year, $62 million contract with the Hawks, Alexander-Walker started the season as a sixth man and moved into Atlanta\u2019s starting lineup early with Trae Young dealing with a knee injury. His status as a full-time starter was solidified after a January trade<\/a> sent Young to Washington for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.<\/p>\n On March 16 of this year he scored a career-high 41 points in a 124-112 win over the Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n He competed for the Canadian senior national team in the 2020 FIBA men\u2019s Olympic qualifying tournament, and then agreed to a three-year commitment to play with the Canadian senior men\u2019s national team. He was named to Canada\u2019s roster for th2 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.<\/p>\n Alexander-Walker\u2019s win adds to the award haul for his family; his cousin is Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Hamilton, Ont., the reigning MVP and a finalist for MVP honours again this season.<\/p>\n Daniels said it\u2019s more proof that the Hawks are elite in player development.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Atlanta has a really good development pathway,\u201d Daniels said Friday. \u201cGuys come in here, get their work in, and (Hawks coach Quin Snyder is) really good at giving guys opportunities to play free and be themselves. That\u2019s what Nickeil\u2019s come in and done this year, and our offence has taken a huge jump.\u201d<\/p>\n This was the fifth award to be announced by the NBA since the end of the regular season. The others:<\/p>\n * San Antonio\u2019s Victor Wembanyama became the youngest Defensive Player of the Year,<\/a> and the first to win the award in a unanimous vote.<\/p>\n * Gilgeous-Alexander nearly became the first unanimous winner of the Clutch Player of the Year<\/a> award. He got 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes.<\/p>\n * San Antonio\u2019s Keldon Johnson topped Miami\u2019s Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year,<\/a> getting 63 first-place votes.<\/p>\n