Stock Report: Hawks’ Dyson Daniels within earshot of Michael Jordan

Dyson Daniels has become the gift that keeps on giving for Hawks fans. After a recent stretch where he accumulated 29 steals in five games, Daniels followed that up with a career-high four blocks in Atlanta’s latest road win over the Sacramento Kings. 

Daniels won it for the Hawks in the game’s final seconds with an incredible block on Kings superstar De’Aaron Fox, adding another highlight to the collection of defensive heroics he has provided for Atlanta just 15 games into his tenure.

Daniels is on pace for a truly historic defensive season, especially for a guard. The 6-foot-7 rising star has averaged 3.4 steals and 1.1 blocks with the Hawks. Atlanta fans are campaigning for Daniels to win Defensive Player of the Year, and his latest game-winning block will only help his case.

Dyson Daniels is putting himself in defensive conversations with Michael Jordan

Daniels’ average of 4.5 stocks (steals + blocks) would rank second all-time among stocks per game in a season by a guard. Only the great Michael Jordan averaged more in 1988 when he posted 4.8 stocks per game. 

At just 21 years old, Daniels is entering rarefied air as a defender. Hawks fans recently started calling him ‘The Great Barrier Thief,’ and the talented Aussie has more than lived up to his nickname.

Despite Atlanta’s lackluster defensive rating, Daniels has given the team a significant boost in his minutes. He has the strongest defensive rating on the team with a 111.0 mark, nearly five points better than Atlanta’s 22nd-ranked team defense. The Hawks have allowed 7.4 fewer points per 100 possessions with Daniels on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass.

Daniels may be a steal machine, but he also does things on defense that don’t show up in the box score. He currently leads the league with 91 deflections, 34 more than the second-ranked Fox. On pace to shatter the all-time record for deflections in a single season, Daniels has emerged as the clear favorite for the NBA Hustle Award and a sneaky contender for Most Improved Player.

Between his lethal perimeter defense, underrated rim protection, and constant activity on and off the ball, Daniels has become one of the NBA’s most versatile defenders. Atlanta’s defensive anchor is a jack of all trades with a bright future ahead of him. While many Hawks fans were initially skeptical about the Dejounte Murray trade, Daniels’ breakout campaign should surely put those skeptics to rest.

At this rate, Daniels will be etching his name into the history books with one of the finest defensive seasons the NBA has ever seen. With Atlanta ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference, Hawks fans should expect their squad to continue leaning on Daniels and his two-way greatness.