Timberwolves’ Nickeil Alexander-Walker Not Happy Charles Barkley Made Fun Of His First Name

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker is not happy that Hall of Famer and TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley made fun of his first name. 

“Is his real name Nickeil?” Barkley asked during the conference finals. “Boy, somebody just made up some stuff again. Nickeil is not a name. They named him after a coin. They just spelled it wrong.”

Alexander-Walker spoke to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson about Barkley’s “disrespectful” comments. 

“My mom’s name is Nicole and my dad’s name is Nicholas,” Alexander-Walker said. “My mom originally wanted to name me Khalil; she had a friend who had a baby named Khalil maybe a year or a couple months before I was born, and so, my grandmother just named me Nickeil. And you know, my grandmother’s very close in my life.

“I didn’t see it when it aired. But my text messages and DMs started going off. People were sending me the clip. Honestly, I felt a little slighted at first. It was a little disrespectful because I take pride in who I am, and my name is part of my identity. Knowing that it was given to me from people who I care about a lot, means a lot.”