During the 2023 NBA offseason, the Atlanta Hawks sent former All-Star Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans in a blockbuster trade. While the focus was on Murray throughout the offseason, once the season arrived, eyes quickly shifted to the emergence of a new leader and cornerstone player for the Hawks: Dyson Daniels.
Dyson’s New Home
In trading Murray, the Hawks received Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr., E.J. Liddell, Cody Zeller (via sign-and-trade), and a pair of first-round picks from New Orleans.
The league and its fans viewed Dyson Daniels as a younger prospect who needed more work to reach his ceiling. In his first season as a Hawk, he would turn out to be a cornerstone player for the franchise.
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Heading into the 2024 season, Daniels was viewed as a defensive role player for the Hawks. He averaged 5.8 points per game in 2023, only shooting 31.1% from three. Any offense that the Hawks could get out of Daniels would have been viewed as a success, as long as his elite defense made an impact.
Daniels shattered expectations in the 2024 season as he would go on to win the “Most Improved Player Award” from the NBA. He averaged career-high stats in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Included in these career highs are shooting percentage from the field and the three-point line, but where Daniels really made a name for himself, as expected, was on the defensive end of the floor.
Fans gave Dyson Daniels the nickname “The Great Barrier Thief” because of the elite defense he played in the 2024 season, and because he’s Australian.
Daniels averaged three steals a game, the most in a season since Gary Payton in the 1995-96. A defining moment last year came in a road game in Sacramento as the Hawks took on the Kings. With 10 seconds left in the 4th quarter, De’Aaron Fox was driving with the ball in transition. Dyson Daniels would pick him up and come up with the game-winning steal for the Hawks.
Daniels’ impact on the Hawks’ defense statistically was profound. In the 2023 season, the Hawks were had the 27th-best defense in the league. In the 2024 season, after Daniels arrived, the Hawks were had the 18th-best defensive rating, going from one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA up to average because of Dyson.
Daniels Is A Nightmare On Defense
Daniels’ availability, along with his ability to guard almost any position on the floor, made him one of the most valuable players on defense in the entire league.
Steals were not the only reason Daniels was a pest on defense. He used his length unlike any guard in the league causing countless deflections. Daniels averaged 5.8 deflections a game as he would pick up players full-court and use his length to tip passes. This made him a nightmare to face for opposing players.
The league recognized how well Dyson Daniels was playing on the defensive side of the floor. He ended up being as a finalist for the “Defensive Player of the Year” award. Daniels would go on to finish runner-up in the award to the eventual winner, Evan Mobley from the Cavaliers.
Finding His Offensive Game
Daniels improved as a shooter in the 2024 season, but has more room to grow in that area. He increased his three-point percentage from 31.3% to 34% throughout the season, with more attempts per game. One area of offense where Daniels helped the Hawks was his ability to cut to the paint off the ball for Trae Young. The Hawks also used him as a ball handler is some sets, which resulted in more off-ball looks for Jalen Johnson and Young. As Daniels’ offense continues to improve, his value as a Hawk will only continue to soar.
The Hawks now look towards the offseason. They’re going to try to build a roster around a younger core that now includes Dyson Daniels. In an offseason full of doubts and questions for Atlanta, Daniels will not be one. Instead, the Hawks will build around him in an attempt to make it back to the NBA playoffs.
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