Virginia Tech Professional Athletes

Nickeil Alexander-Walker's college days at Virginia Tech are long behind him, but the Hokies' footprint in the NBA remains visible — and in Atlanta, it's looking increasingly permanent.

The Hawks have retained Alexander-Walker as part of their core heading into the 2026-27 season, according to ClutchPoints, grouping him alongside Jalen Johnson, CJ McCollum, Dyson Daniels, and Onyeka Okongwu as the nucleus around which coach Quin Snyder will build his fifth year on the bench. It's a meaningful vote of confidence for the Virginia Tech product, who has carved out a dependable role on a team actively trying to take the next step in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta didn't stand pat this offseason, either. The Hawks added Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins to deepen their perimeter options — a move that, in theory, should relieve some of the two-way burden that has defined Alexander-Walker's value to the roster. As a wing who can guard multiple positions and space the floor, the Virginia Tech alum fits neatly into Snyder's system, and the arrival of proven veterans around him could sharpen his effectiveness rather than diminish his role.

Snyder's continuity matters here. A coach entering his fifth season with a retained core is a coach who knows exactly what he has — and what he wants from each piece. Alexander-Walker being named among that inner circle suggests the Hawks view him as more than a depth option; he's infrastructure.

Elsewhere in the League

Two other Hokies are suiting up in the NBA this season, though neither garnered notable offseason headlines during this period. Landers Nolley II remains with the New Orleans Pelicans, while Sean Pedulla is on the roster in Houston with the Rockets. Neither player was featured in major transactions or storylines during the Sept. 13–19 window.

For Virginia Tech fans tracking the program's pro pipeline, Alexander-Walker remains the clearest proof of concept — a player who has stuck, contributed, and now earned a seat at the table on a franchise with genuine playoff ambitions. Hokie faithful will have plenty of reason to tune into Hawks broadcasts when the 2026-27 season tips off.

Virginia Tech doesn't have an NBA alumni colony in Atlanta — it has a starting backcourt.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Lu Dort, both products of Blacksburg, are now Hawks teammates after Atlanta acquired Dort in an offseason trade. Before they suit up together in the regular season, the two got an early taste of their partnership on the international stage, and it looked very, very good.

In a FIBA Men's Basketball World Cup 2027 Americas Qualifier matchup against Argentina on Monday, Alexander-Walker dropped 26 points and Dort added 25 as Canada pulled out a hard-fought 97-92 victory. Fifty-one combined points from two former Hokies, sharing a floor, in a meaningful international game — it's the kind of scene that makes Virginia Tech alumni do a double-take.

For Dort, the Quebec City game carried extra personal significance: it was his first time playing in the province, a homecoming of sorts for the Canadian guard. He made it count.

What This Means for Atlanta

The Hawks front office didn't acquire Dort just for the highlight reel. After a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the New York Knicks last season, Atlanta is actively retooling around a core that can defend and create at a high level. Dort — one of the league's premier perimeter stoppers — gives the Hawks a credible answer to elite wing scorers, and his pairing with Alexander-Walker projects as one of the more versatile backcourt combinations in the Eastern Conference.

The Canada qualifier served as an unscripted preseason audition. Dort and Alexander-Walker didn't just coexist — they carried the game together down the stretch, which is exactly the kind of late-clock trust Atlanta's coaching staff will want to see replicated come October.

The Hokie Pipeline

Virginia Tech doesn't dominate the NBA alumni conversation the way Kentucky or Duke does, but Alexander-Walker and Dort represent something real: a program that has produced legitimate NBA contributors who are now both starting-caliber players on the same playoff-contending roster. Sean Pedulla (Rockets) and Landers Nolley II (Pelicans) extend the active alumni list, but the Atlanta duo is the story right now.

For Hokies fans, the FIBA qualifier win over Argentina is a useful reminder that their program's footprint in professional basketball runs deeper than the box scores typically suggest. Canada is 97-92 better off for it — and so, potentially, are the Hawks.