Dyson Daniels has emerged as one of the best defenders in the NBA, and certainly the top threat to take the ball away, boasting a league-leading 3.1-SPG average. This could just be the start of a true breakout for the former New Orleans Pelicans first-round pick.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Chris Herring listed Daniels among their “way-too-early breakout” candidates.
While commending his defense, Woo and Herring expect an offensive leap from Daniels.
“Learning to play alongside All-Star Trae Young should only get easier for the 21-year-old Daniels, who has averaged career numbers in his third year,” ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Chris Herring wrote on March 26. “One potential indication of him settling in: He’s shot 51% overall and nearly 38% from 3 since the All-Star break, up from 47% and 33% prior to that. It’s an encouraging offensive run to build on, particularly with how great he's already been on defense.”
This season, the Hawks have a plus-1.5 net efficiency differential with Daniels and Young on the floor together, ranking in the 61st percentile, per Cleaning The Glass. Their top three five-man groups featuring the duo in terms of minutes all rank in the 42nd percentile or worse offensively.
Conversely, those groups all rank in the 56th percentile or better defensively, underscoring where their greatest area of growth figures to be.
Daniels is also averaging career-highs with 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
He has made tremendous strides as a shooter, with a 53.7% true shooting clip while connecting on 34.4% of his deep looks; also career-best marks. Daniels has also been durable, tying Young for the team lead with 68 appearances. Daniels also ranks third in minutes per game.
Dyson Daniels a legitimate steal for the Hawks amid key change
Daniels remains a project offensively, which is encouraging given the gains he made this season. However, defense remains his calling card with All-Defensive team honors a (should-be) lock and Defensive Player of the Year votes possible.
“Key stat: The ever-widening statistical gap between Daniels and the rest of the league in terms of deflections is ridiculous. He has 393, while second-place Kelly Oubre Jr. (Philadelphia) has 248. That gap of 145 is the same as the one between Oubre and Orlando's Goga Bitadze, who ranks 125th in deflections,” Woo and Herring wrote. “Beyond that, just last week, Daniels logged his 192nd steal, giving him the most in a single season in more than a decade.”
Daniels spoke with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and revealed what has changed for him since the trade that has allowed him to thrive with the Hawks.
“Confidence,” Daniels told Scotto in an interview published on March 28. “Coach Quin [Snyder] has instilled confidence in me to play freely and be myself. My teammates have given me confidence as well. It’s just that my mindset has changed. I’ve come in wanting to be more aggressive and play more freely without any restrictions. I think it’s been more that my mindset has changed rather than anything between the two organizations.”
Daniels is in line for a significant raise on his next contract.
The Hawks are expected to give it to him, potentially securing Young’s backcourt mate and giving them a young core under team control through at least 2027-28. Young turns 27 in September, and his contract also runs through 2027-28.
However, he has a player option for the 2026-27 season that could see him hit unrestricted free agency one year early.