Atlanta Hawks fans and critics have spent the 2025-26 season pondering what happened to Dyson Daniels and his three-point shooting. He continues to perform at a high level in virtually every phase of the game, but his jump shot has fallen apart in an unfathomable manner.
What's been steadily overlooked during this trying season, however, is how Daniels has adapted his game to perfectly navigate these trying times and set the stage for a recovery.
A season ago, Daniels converted 1.1 of his 3.1 three-point field goal attempts per game, checking in at a mark of 34.0 percent from beyond the arc. His efficiency has been inexplicably cut in half in 2025-26, however, as he's buried just 17.0 percent of his attempts from distance.
For as alarming as that may be, Daniels deserves some measure of credit for adapting to that change by also cutting his attempts in half from 3.1 to 1.5.
Daniels has also increased his two-point field goal percentage from 54.5 to 57.9. That's ultimately resulted in his overall field goal percentage increasing from 49.3 to 51.9. Both numbers speak to progress rather than a player falling apart.
Compounded by his noteworthy improvement as a playmaker and offensive rebounder, and the quiet development of his in-between game, Daniels has actually improved more than he's regressed.
Dyson Daniels has evolved as a finisher, playmaker, offensive rebounder
In addition to increasing his two-point field goal percentage overall, Daniels has diversified the way he scores from within the arc. A season ago, he shot just 39.4 percent from 10-to-14 feet away from the basket. In 2025-26, he's up to 56.1 percent.
Daniels is also shooting 64.6 percent within five feet of the basket, which is up slightly but meaningfully from 62.3 percent in 2024-25.
Furthermore, Daniels has increased his production as a facilitator from 4.7 assists per 36 minutes in 2024-25 to 6.4 in 2025-26. He's done so while committing fewer turnovers, thus bringing his assist-to-turnover ratio from 2.15 in 2024-25 to 3.29 in 2025-26.
Daniels' emergence as a high-level playmaker has played a direct role in the Hawks being able to overcome trading former franchise player and primary playmaker Trae Young.
In addition to improving his interior efficiency and playmaking output, Daniels has become an essential contributor on the offensive glass. He's up from 1.7 to 2.5 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes, which has been essential for a Hawks team that ranks No. 21 in offensive rebounding as a team.
Daniels clearly needs to fix his jump shot, but his development in other areas of the game deserves praise for helping the Hawks escape the depths of mediocrity.