To Charles Barkley and Inside the NBA, it was just a joke, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker didn\u2019t appreciate having his name mocked on national television.<\/p>\n
Last week, Barkley<\/a> was discussing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander\u2019s cousin, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and settled for \u201cwhatever his name is\u201d after struggling to say Nickeil Alexander-Walker. After Draymond Green asked him to try saying Nickeil Alexander-Walker\u2019s name again, Barkley joked, \u201cNickel? What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n https:\/\/t.co\/1LA0mLgLLI<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PtZ5nsuXGK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 CJ Fogler \ud83e\udee1 (@cjzero) May 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIs his real name Nickeil?\u201d Barkley asked. \u201cBoy, somebody just made up some stuff again. Nickeil is not a name. They named him after a coin\u2014they just spelled it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, Alexander-Walker was asked about it during a press conference and he laughed off Barkley\u2019s blunder<\/a>, saying he assumed media members were given phonetic spellings of names to avoid any mistakes. But more recently, Brandon \u201cScoop B\u201d Robinson<\/a> asked Alexander-Walker about Barkley mispronouncing his name, and the Timberwolves guard didn\u2019t seem enthused.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I felt a little slighted at first,\u201d Alexander-Walker told Scoop. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom\u2019s name is Nicole and my dad\u2019s name is Nicholas,\u201d Alexander-Walker explained<\/a>. \u201cMy 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\u2019s very close in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite being the most popular analyst in the NBA, Barkley has made a habit out of mispronouncing and forgetting players names throughout his tenure on TNT. He even previously called Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a> \u201cShai Alexander-Gilchrest.\u201d So butchering Nickeil Alexander-Walker\u2019s name is nothing new and it\u2019s not intended to be personal. But when a name holds meaning, that individual player isn\u2019t going to appreciate the bit.<\/p>\n \t