Dyson Daniels earned Most Improved Player honors last season and garnered significant attention as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, ultimately falling just short of winning both awards simultaneously. What could possibly be better than one Dyson Daniels?
Why not two!
Dash Daniels, Dyson’s younger brother, will be draft eligible in the 2026 NBA Draft next summer. At present, he's incredibly similar to his older brother as a player, possessing elite perimeter defense, excellent positional size, and even a bit of extra muscle that Dyson lacked at his age.
While Dash’s offensive game is still developing (much as Dyson’s was at his age, and is still), he projects as being a solid secondary or tertiary playmaker that has the ability to use his size, speed, and strength to gain an advantage for the offense.
In recent mock drafts, Dash is quite polarizing as a young talent. While ESPN projected him as a top 10 pick earlier this summer, Bleacher Report mocked him falling all the way to 28th overall.
While Atlanta's pick is certainly in a significant amount of flux at present, both due to the volatile nature of the current team and the existing pick swap with the equally unpredictable San Antonio Spurs, the idea of picking Dash with that first round pick is promising.
The NBA is in dire need of elite perimeter defenders with length and versatility
Dash Daniels fits this bill to a tee.
While his draft position is incredibly dynamic at present, the idea of pairing Dyson and Dash together is tantalizing, both from a chemistry perspective as well as an overall team perspective.
The more positive defenders that Onsi Saleh can surround Trae Young with, the better. In a league where offensive dynamos like SGA, Brunson, Doncic, Edwards, and Trae himself torture defenders on a nightly basis, the more elite defenders you can throw in their way, the better - OKC is the obvious proof of this theorem, rostering Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso, and Jalen Williams as excellent, lengthy defenders.
Dash could also join Kobe Johnson, Jalen's younger brother, as a developmental piece for the Hawks whose younger brother starts for the squad. Like his fellow younger sibling, Kobe is an elite defender with the physical traits to translate to the next level. Kobe is currently with the College Park Skyhawks, but was incredibly impressive in this past summer league. The two could join their older brothers to make the most wholesome group of defensive menaces the league has seen.
While it's still a long shot this far out from the draft, the pairing of the Daniels brothers together in a contending squad would be sweet. Time will tell if Onsi Saleh is a fan as well.