‘My second brother’: Bond between Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander runs deep

Nickeil Alexander-Walker shut down his cousin Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in a play-in success in that sent the Thunder home and clinched the Timberwolves second consecutive playoff berth Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker of Canada line up on the court for the playing of national anthems before an exhibition tournament against the United States ahead of the Paris Olympic Games at T-Mobile Arena on July in Las Vegas Nevada The United States defeated Canada - Photo by Ethan Miller Getty Images It was a breakout defensive performance for Alexander-Walker the first step in the guard earning a spot in Minnesota s rotation for years to come It also was a showing that carried several added weight given the opponent I know they re like brothers or something Anthony Edwards announced after the contest The comment drew laughter Everyone else knew the family lineage But as it turns out Edwards was closer to being correct than greater part knew After securing his first Western Conference Finals appearance against who else but Alexander-Walker Gilgeous-Alexander described the opportunity to play against his cousin on such a grand stage It s tough to even explain If you know how close we are he s literally like my second brother Gilgeous-Alexander notified reporters He has been through every stage of life with me from picking up a basketball to going to prep school to making the NBA we ve gone through every situation together For both us to be where we are it s special Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during overtime of an NBA basketball tournament Monday Feb in Oklahoma City AP Photo Kyle Phillips When he says every stage he means it quite literally Alexander-Walker recalls going to elementary school with his cousin and the dreams they had of playing basketball at the highest level He remembers the conversations they had centering on who was the best between the likes of Kobe Bryant LeBron James and Allen Iverson They made plans for kids in future years to have to debate Nickeil or Shai The pursuit of such heights brought the cousins from Toronto to Tennessee where they attended Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga for their junior and senior seasons of high school The cousins lived together with then-Hamilton Heights head coach Zach Ferrell They shared beds that were feet apart and they literally did every moment of life together for two years while they were in Tennessee Ferrell explained The Oklahoman As close as any two people could be Conclusively basketball took them on separate journeys Gilgeous-Alexander committed to Kentucky while Alexander-Walker went to Virginia Tech That s when Alexander-Walker explained the two knew they needed to have their own individual identities But the assistance remained Gilgeous-Alexander left Kentucky for the draft after one season A year later Alexander-Walker went pro And on the night he was selected No overall his cousin was right by his side It s a blessing obviously But we worked for it our whole life And we knew since as early as I could remember that we d both make it and we re here the present day Gilgeous-Alexander explained ESPN on his cousin s draft night We still have more to prove It doesn t stop here for us and we re ready for the challenge Gilgeous-Alexander s path to greatness in the NBA has been more of a straight-line ascension but Alexander-Walker has also now proven himself to be a high-end two-way wing who s set to cash in for a large payday this offseason Truth be recounted Gilgeous-Alexander has reliably likely had the upper hand over his cousin But on Alexander-Walker s draft night when urged who won the majority of the one-on-one bouts Gilgeous-Alexander smiled and stated I ll say him because it s his day No such concessions will be made in this series After the Thunder topped Denver in Tournament of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday to secure this brotherly bout Alexander-Walker s mom apparently texted Gilgeous-Alexander s dad Oh it s war now It s all love at the end of the day but it s really cool Alexander-Walker reported reporters It s a real cool feeling especially if I go on my phone it s the only thing I see especially from friends and family back home I think years from now years from now I ll be able to appreciate the moment for what it was and what we were able to accomplish That list of achievements is long Draft nights Olympics now a Western Conference Finals trip shared though this time through opposing lenses That s what makes this experience a little different Off the court it s invariably going to be love and family time hanging out Like he mentioned earlier we have gone through so countless things in life together even like fatherhood So just having a chance to see his kids him to see mine and just be able to interact like that Alexander-Walker declared But in times like this you want to keep it as business as accomplishable But at the same time enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime moment With a specific mission in mind In this time the only thing I care about is making sure the Wolves get four wins Alexander-Walker disclosed It s kind of like playing poker You ve got to play the man I can t air out all my tricks right now I can t give up the strategies But I think it s just enjoying the opportunities enjoying the matchup I m going to get the best of him sometimes he s going to get the best of me But not backing down and trying to stop him more than he can stop me in whatever approaches and facets that looks like The feeling is mutual on the other end I am trying to take his head off Gilgeous-Alexander noted with a laugh For sure