Dyson Daniels Receives Unfortunate Prediction From NBA Analyst

While it might be easy to assume that Daniels will continue to get better, progress is not linear. Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes picked the biggest riser and fall for each team and picked Daniels to be the biggest faller for the Hawks:

"One of the reasons Atlanta looks so formidable after an offseason of retooling is that it doesn't really have anyone you'd expect to dramatically decline. Kristaps Porziņģis is entering his age-30 season and comes with durability issues, but he slipped pretty far last year. A rebound actually feels more likely for him.

A victim of his own success, Daniels is the pick. He's probably not going to beat his No. 2 finish in Defensive Player of the Year from last season, and the odds are he'll also struggle to replicate his average of 3.0 steals per game, the highest figure anyone's posted in 35 years.

Daniels will still be great, and he might even improve offensively. But he can't sustain the upward momentum he established in a breakout 2024-25."

Daniels season was historic

Do I expect Daniels to finish second in defensive player of the year voting again? No, but that is more because of how hard it is for guards to get in the conversation for the award, not because I think Daniels is going to have a lesser season.

Daniels had a historic season for Atlanta, becoming one of the premier defenders in the NBA and winning games with his ability to steal the ball away. Not only that, but Daniels saw huge growth on the offensive end as well.

Daniels isn't just a good defender - he's one of the best ball hawks ever. In the 2024-25 regular season, he became the first player in the 21st century to record 225+ steals after finishing with 229. He also became the first player in the 21st century to average 3.0 steals per game, the 11th best mark in NBA history. Daniels legitimately swung games for the Hawks this season with his ability to force steals.

Daniels owned 98 more steals than the next closest player (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 131). His 98-steal gap between himself and Gilgeous-Alexander is the same gap as Gilgeous-Alexander (2nd) and the nine players tied for the 265th-most steals in the league this season. His 98-steal lead is the largest between No. 1 and No. 2 in NBA history, per Elias Sports. Entering this season, the largest gap between No. 1 and No. 2 was Alvin Robertson (301 steals) over Maurice Cheeks (207 steals) for a difference of 94 steals in 1985-86. Robertson was named Defensive Player of the Year that season.

The list of accomplishments for Daniels this past year are staggering:

• He's the first player since Rajon Rondo (2010-11) to have a steal/foul ratio of 1.2-or-higher (min. 150 steals).

• He led Atlanta to a 10-spot defensive rating improvement from 2023-24 to 2024-25 (118.4 drtg to 114.8 drtg).

• Owns the most 4+ steal games (27) in the NBA since 1993-94 (Nate McMillan) and the most 5+ steal games (14) since 2010-11 (Chris Paul).

• Tallied 443 total deflections, the most in a single season since the league began tracking the stat.

• Recovered 79 loose balls during the 2024-25 campaign, the second-most by any player in the NBA.

• Inaugural Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month and one of only two players to be named a two-time Defensive Player of the Month (October/November and March).

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