Dyson Daniels entered last season on an underwhelming career trajectory. While he had clear strengths and it was too early to fold on his career entirely, he had not produced at a meaningful level through two seasons. After being treated as little more than an afterthought during the Dejounte Murray trade, Daniels was set to come off the bench in Atlanta with the hopes that he could grow into Murray's former role.
Luckily for Hawk fans, Daniels was not a bust. The third-year swingman out of the G League Ignite program led one of the most impressive seasons in recent memory, winning Most Improved Player and finishing second on the Defensive Player of the Year ballots.
Perhaps most critically, Daniels finally was a good enough offensive player to justify a core spot in the rotation. He more than doubled his points per game tally from 5.8 to 14.1 while making a critical jump from a shaky shooter to an average spacing threat. This offensive improvement was what allowed Dyson to receive big minutes, which in turn enabled his defense to take over games.
But Daniels' 2024-25 season was almost too good to be true. After finishing with an impressive 1.4 steals per game as a sophomore, which was good for 17th in the NBA, Daniels more than doubled his output last season and became the first player to average over three steals per game in over 30 years. It is not guaranteed that Daniels can maintain his transcendent level of play from last season.
Atlanta needs the full version of Daniels for their title aspirations
While Daniels almost certainly won’t replicate the statistical defensive dominance he showed last season, he could still improve as an overall player without a jump in stats. Even if he does not improve, Atlanta will be more than happy if he can just maintain his previous level of production.
While he needs to prove his defensive dominance wasn’t a fluke, he also needs to improve upon his deep game to become a star. Daniels has a career 32.7% clip from three point range, which he improved to 34.0% last season. While his current clip is passable, you would like to see him continue his improvement, hopefully surpassing league average as a shooter.
Last season, the Hawks had other shooters who were worse than Daniels, whose own shooting struggles hid Daniels' shaky three point percentage. Next season, however, Atlanta now has a great three-point shooting team, leaving Daniels as the clear worst three-point shooter of the starting lineup.
This means Daniels will get plenty of open looks from deep. If he can convert on these attempts, this Hawks roster will have a terrifying offense. If he can't convert, however, he is liable to be played off the floor in certain situations.
If Daniels is a poor offensive player, his overall value suddenly plummets far below what Atlanta plans to pay Daniels next offseason. If he can continue his upward trajectory, however, the sky is the limit for both Atlanta and Daniels.