Dyson Daniels pushing all-time defender status in first year with Hawks

The Dyson Daniels hype train has never been fuller. If you somehow missed it, there might not be any room left to join.

The Great Barrier Thief has emerged as the ultimate fan favorite for the Atlanta Hawks. His defensive wizardry has placed him fourth in the odds race for Defensive Player of the Year, and he is all but a lock for the first All-Defensive selection of his career.

In Atlanta’s latest win over the Heat, Daniels added another accomplishment to an already historic defensive season. He became the fifth player since the 2000-01 campaign to have 11 or more games with five-plus steals in a single season, joining the likes of Chris Paul and Allen Iverson on a very short list.

If Daniels can follow in the defensive footsteps of all-time guards like CP3, Atlanta will have struck gold. During his career, CP3 made nine All-Defensive teams and was a six-time steals champ. 

Daniels nabbed seven steals against Miami, marking four games in his last five with at least four steals. The Aussie ball hawk is in a class of his own, averaging a league-best 3.1 steals – on pace for the eighth-best steals average ever recorded in a single NBA season.

Dyson Daniels is already playing like an all-time defender

From a historic perspective, Daniels is producing generational defensive numbers for a third-year player. He is on track to surpass John Stockton’s steal count from his third season, and Stockton is the all-time NBA steals leader.

Daniels is making history with his pick-pocketing brilliance, but it doesn’t end there. Atlanta’s beloved shooting guard has already broken the NBA record for deflections in a single season. He is averaging a ridiculous 6.1 deflections per game, which is essentially unheard of in the history of the sport.

Daniels may not have the statistical totals that come with a full NBA career yet, but he is producing like an all-time defender at just 21 years of age. If he maintains his current pace, Daniels will become the first Hawk to average at least 3.0 steals per game for a season. He would also become the first player (from any team) in over two decades to average 3.0 steals.

Last year, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De’Aaron Fox tied for a league-leading 150 steals. In the 2024-25 campaign, Daniels has already collected 163 steals with 24 games left on Atlanta’s schedule.

Hawks fans may have seen this coming when Daniels was already inserting himself into defensive conversations with Michael Jordan two months into his Hawks tenure. Daniels’ 6-foot-8 build at the guard position gives him an edge not only as a perimeter disruptor but as a rim-protecting threat.

Atlanta has also boasted its first top-15 defense of the Trae Young era this season. The Hawks own the No. 15 defensive rating in the NBA and a top-10 unit over their last seven contests. Daniels has fueled this critical Hawks improvement as the ultimate anchor of defensive versatility.

Simply put, Daniels looks like the kind of player that could make the Hall-of-Fame for his defensive efforts alone. The Australian youngster has a long career ahead of him, and Hawks fans are hoping he will spend the rest of it in Atlanta.