Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have matched up with one another often in the West Finals.
OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Western Conference Finals are over and players from the Thunder and Wolves are wishing each other well, no hug will be more meaningful than the two who share the same blood and hyphenated name: Alexander.
What they whisper in each other’s ears before walking off the court won’t be captured by intrusive microphones nor deciphered by lip-readers watching at home. It will almost be their own language, meant only for each other. As it should be.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker will root strongly for whomever advances to the NBA Finals — and right now, with a 3-1 lead and playing at home for Game 5 (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), it appears Gilgeous-Alexander will have family bragging rights unless this series develops a drastic change.
The cousins are close, so the reigning Kia MVP will be sensitive with his words. He knows how much Alexander-Walker worked to reach this point, as a reserve player for the Wolves, who is suddenly earning heavy minutes in this series.
Two nights ago, when these teams engaged in a tight fourth quarter in a pivotal game, it was Alexander-Walker guarding Gilgeous-Alexander and vice versa. Even if they weren’t family, the back-and-forth between these guards was dramatic, intense, entertaining, and as Gilgeous-Alexander said, “super fun.”
Gilgeous-Alexander produced the win for OKC and scored 40 points. But Alexander-Walker grew as a player in those 12 minutes, on the big stage, as his reputation after that quarter wasn’t the same as when he entered it.
That’s because he threw a bow-tie on the game of his professional life, all things considered: 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting (5-for-8 on 3-pointers) and six assists. He was more impactful than Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle and helped the Wolves keep the game competitive.
“Just being out there on this stage, going against each other … he got the best of me at times, I got the best of him,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Something we’ve dreamt about our whole lives.”
"He's literally like my 2nd brother…"
Cousins who were born just 52 days apart…
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are ready to square off in the Western Conference Finals 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/WtW53z33m7
— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2025
They grew up together in Hamilton, not far from Toronto, were high school teammates and briefly roommates. Gilgeous-Alexander’s father is the brother of Alexander-Walker’s mother. Both were first-round picks in the NBA, yet Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s older by roughly six weeks, developed much faster and better. Once he was traded from the LA Clippers to OKC and earned the keys to the franchise, the rest was history: an MVP, scoring title, All-NBA selections, All-Star Games and a max contract.
Alexander-Walker is on his third team and was mainly a backup at each stop. He struggled with shooting consistency early in his career, but in his two full seasons with the Wolves has improved to 44%. His performance in these playoffs will help dictate what’s next. As an unrestricted free agent this summer, he’s looking for his big payday and the Wolves, currently with the second-highest payroll in the league, want to keep him.
If he duplicates what he did in Game 4, he’ll have options.
It’s quite the coincidence how Alexander-Walker’s value on the upcoming free-agent market (and his future with the Wolves) will partly depend on how he defends his cousin in Game 5 and beyond.
“I’m not really surprised,” said Gilgeous-Alexander. “I know what type of basketball player he is. The night he had (in Game 4) is what he’s capable of doing. Great skill, great feel.”
Alexander-Walker is putting aside his relationship with Gilgeous-Alexander for the moment. That can wait. He’s busy examining the Wolves’ chances of rallying from 3-1 down.
“They know how to beat us, we know how to beat them,” he said. “It’s just about going out there and doing it. And who wants it more. We showed that at times but consistency is what we need.”
Stopping OKC begins with slowing Gilgeous-Alexander. Alexander-Walker is intent on preventing Gilgeous-Alexander from advancing and believes their history together can only help him do that — nobody has deeper scouting reports on Gilgeous-Alexander than Alexander-Walker.
Nightly Notable: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | May 26
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has OKC on the cusp of the NBA Finals after his 40-point showing in Game 4 vs. Minnesota.
“Obviously it’s a challenge because he has the ball constantly,” Alexander-Walker said. “He knows even if he misses shots, it keeps coming back to him. He knows who he has been all year, and they keep relying on him. The main thing is to throw him off his rhythm. He has a lot of moves. He’s going to be creative. He has seen every coverage any team can throw at him.
“For me, it’s just about trying to anticipate what he’s going to do, make sure that every shot he takes is going to be a tough shot. Defend without fouling. It’s easier said than done because it’s what he does. You just have to try to find a way to come up with stops. The tough thing about it is, do we capitalize when we do the right things against him?”
Their one-on-one is the game within the game in this series. Alexander-Walker will likely get more chances and minutes, not just because he’s coming off a solid Game 4, but the Wolves need options at guard.
Mike Conley, the starter, is 37. Alexander-Walker brings better anticipation and size, quicker hands and more of a willingness to shoot and therefore force Gilgeous-Alexander to work at both ends.
When the cousins are on the floor, staring across from each other, “it adds more to the game,” said Gilgeous-Alexander.
This isn’t the first time they’ve battled in the NBA, yet the first time the stakes are this elevated, along with the family ties.
“It’s hard because you’re so into it, you can’t like sit down and watch it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Well, not like family members back home in Canada. The emotion right now between aunts and uncles and fellow cousins in front of their TVs is likely off the charts.
As for Gilgeous-Alexander and Alexander-Walker, all meaningful conversations between them must wait until the buzzer sounds and one moves on to the NBA Finals.
“When it’s all said and done, we’ll have plenty of stories about it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “For us to be here is amazing.”
A question for Alexander-Walker: Is he also looking forward to those conversations?
“Only if I win,” he said, with a straight face, “to be honest.”
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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