New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Improvements NAW Must Make to Become SGA

Could Nickeil Alexander-Walker evolve into his cousin for the New Orleans Pelicans?

The easiest way for the New Orleans Pelicans to improve next season is for their young players to get better.

One of those players is Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the Pels’ talented 21-year-old rookie, who showed flashes this season but was never able to put it all together.

Meanwhile, his cousin, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is one of the best young players in the league and a huge part of OKC’s unexpected success this season.

SGA averaged 19 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and over a steal a game for the Thunder in just his second season after making a huge leap from his rookie campaign.

Both cousins are long, athletic guards who can get to the rim and finish, though at this point in their respective careers, SGA is far better at just about everything.

NAW averaged just 5.7 points and 1.8 rebounds and was wildly inconsistent, going from Summer League GOAT to the G-League in a matter of months.

But if you watched SGA In the playoffs, there are a lot of similarities in their games, which gives Pels’ fans hope that NAW can make the same kind of leap that his cousin did.

It is possible, as NAW has all of the physical tools and is actually a bit bigger and stronger than his cousin on the Thunder.

Here are three things NAW must improve if he wants to make that leap, which would help propel the New Orleans Pelicans into the Western Conference elite, much like SGA did for the Thunder.