Grading Dyson Daniels' Hawks debut: Newcomer sends message after stuffing stat sheet

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics ended and, apparently, no one told Dyson Daniels.

In his Atlanta Hawks debut, the Australian Boomers guard stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals (!!!), 2 assists, and 1 block. It is the fifth such 15-5-5 game by a Hawks player since the start of the 2019-20 season, per Stathead.

More encouraging, Daniels got his points in the flow of the offense and was efficient as a scorer.

He shot 50% from the floor and three-point range for the game. But Daniels scored 10 of his points after halftime, going 3-for-4 for 8 points and stealing the ball three times in the third quarter. 

As expected, Daniels drew the start over potential candidates Bogdan Bogdanovic and rookie Zaccharie Risacher. He also showed his toughness.

Daniels popped up and confronted Nets center Nic Claxton after a flagrant foul.

“We're not going to take s*** from anybody,” Daniels told FanDuel Sports Network’s Tabitha Turner-Wilkins in the locker room postgame. “One of us gets hit, goes down, we're all gonna be in there in the battle. That's important. We got to stick up for each other. Just bringing a little bit to that for Game 1. Hopefully, might see it a little bit more during the season. But we’ll see.”

Daniels received a technical foul for approaching Claxton, who was ejected from the game after being assessed with a flagrant 2 foul.

A Cam Thomas foul on De’Andre Hunter sparked another scuffle.

Daniels attempted to confront Thomas – in a much calmer fashion than he addressed Claxton – who turned and walked away only to be confronted by Okongwu. Okongwu and Thomas were both assessed with technical fouls on that one, though no one was ejected.

It was a level of scrappiness that recent Hawks teams have felt like they were missing and, it may not have started with Daniels, but the Aussie certainly embodies it.

As for his play, this was an ideal game.

Hawks need Game 1 Dyson Daniels all season

Before the season started, it was clear that the Hawks needed to get the version of Daniels – who was a key piece of the Hawks’ return package for trading Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans – that tore up the Olympic stage in Paris this past summer.

They got him in the opener. Now, they – and he – must figure out how to get that kind of production consistently.

Trae Young certainly appreciated Daniels' play and what he brings to the team.

The Hawks received several assets and players in the Murray trade.

Most of them are capped as bench players while others are outright draft picks. Daniels is already starting and – for one night at least – starring showing the kind of progress the Hawks surely hoped to see from him.

All of this without even going into detail about how his on-ball defense and disruptiveness did not always show up in the stat sheet. 

His early inefficiency is the only thing keeping it from perfect marks, though his finish helps.

Grade – A