Atlanta Hawks Guard Dyson Daniels Earns All-Defensive First Team Nod

Daniels is the fifth Hawk in franchise history to earn First Team honors, joining Dikembe Mutombo (1997-98, 1996-97), Mookie Blaylock (1994-95, 1993-94), Tree Rollins (1983-84) and Dan Roundfield (1982-83, 1981-82, 1979-80).

Daniels owned a league-best 3.01 steals per game this past season, the first player to average over 3.0 steals per game since Alvin Robertson in 1990-91. He swiped 229 total steals, the most thefts in a single season in franchise history and the most by any player in the NBA since 1996 Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton (231, 1995-96). The third-year guard owned 98 more steals than the next closest player (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 131), marking the largest gap between No. 1 and No. 2 in NBA history. He finished the season with a steal-to-foul ratio of 1.31 (229 steals to 175 fouls), the ninth-best steal-to-foul ratio since 1973-74 and the best by any player in the league since Allen Iverson in 2002-03 (1.51).

Behind Daniels’ defensive presence, the Hawks improved their defensive rating from 118.4 in 2023-24 (27th in NBA) to 114.8 (18th in NBA), per NBA.com/Stats, a 3.6 improvement and the sixth-best improvement by any team this past season. Atlanta recorded 48 games with 10-or-more steals this past season, the most such games by any team in the NBA and the second-most such games in a single season in franchise history (1993-94, 56).

At 22 years and six days, the two-time Defensive Player of the Month recipient became the youngest player in the NBA since at least 1973-74 to tally at least 200 steals in a single season, surpassing Magic Johnson in 1981-82 (22 years, 240 days). In addition to his league-best 229 steals, Daniels also recorded 55 blocks, leading the entire league with a total of 284 stocks (steals + blocks). He became the first guard to lead the NBA in total stocks since 1988 Defensive Player of the Year Michael Jordan (390, 1987-88).

Daniels became the first player in the NBA to tally 200+ steals and 50+ blocks in a single season since Scottie Pippen in 1994-95, and just the seventh player in the NBA to do so since 1973-74, joining Hall-of-Famers Clyde Drexler (3x), Michael Jordan (6x), Hakeem Olajuwon and Pippen (3x), as well as Ron Harper and Alvin Robertson.

The 6-7 guard recorded a league-best 444 total deflections during the 2024-25 campaign, the most deflections by any player since the NBA began tracking the statistic in 2015-16 and 167 more deflections than the next closest player this season (Keon Ellis: 277). Daniels owned an NBA-best 297 total stops (steals + blocks + offensive fouls drawn) and recovered 81 loose balls, the second-most by any player in the league this season.

Per Cleaning the Glass, Daniels recorded a 3.7 steal percentage, ranking in the 100th percentile for combo guards in 2024-25. He also owned a 4.6 offensive rebound percentage (field goals), ranking in the 92nd percentile for all combo guards this past season and a 12.5 defensive rebound percentage (field goals), ranking in the 84th percentile for combo guards.

The Bendigo, Australia, native secured 27 games with four-or-more steals this past season, the most such games in a single season since 1993-94 (Nate McMillan: 27) and 14 games with five-or-more steals, the most such games since 2010-11 (Chris Paul: 14). Daniels is currently riding a 52-game regular season streak with at least one steal, the second-longest such streak in franchise history and the longest by any player since 2017-18 (Victor Oladipo: 64).

Daniels, named the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player, also finished as runner-up for Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He was one of only two players to be a finalist for multiple Kia Performance awards this season, joining Nikola Jokic (Most Valuable Player, Clutch Player of the Year).

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