Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane (22) handles the ball as Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Hawks' Dyson Daniels making history with uncanny defensive skill

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Mar 23, 2025 9:26 PM ET

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels recorded five steals in their 132-119 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, helping him eclipse the 200-steal mark for the season. That is not only a big round number, it puts him in some pretty exclusive company in recent NBA history. Especially for players as young as the 22-year-old Daniels is.

Overall, he is just the third player in the NBA since the start of the 2000 season to record at least 200 steals in a single season, joining only Chris Paul and Allen Iverson.

Dyson Daniels is now the 3rd player since the 2000-01 season to record 200+ STL in a season, joining:

Chris Paul (2x) in 2007-08 & 2008-09
Allen Iverson in 2002-03 https://t.co/HaZcLEM2od pic.twitter.com/adLO1QHvKR
— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2025

That's not all.

He is also the youngest player in the history of the league to record at least 200 steals in a season, passing Hall of Famer Magic Johnson.

Dyson Daniels is now the youngest player in NBA history to record 200+ STL in a season (22 years, 6 days).

The previous youngest?

Magic Johnson (22 years, 240 days) in 1981-82 https://t.co/fJo5OVcyGQ pic.twitter.com/NQSetokxuT
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) March 24, 2025

Daniels is averaging a league-leading 3.0 steals per game this season, which is by far the highest mark in the NBA. Nobody else in the league is averaging even more than two steals per game, while five players are tied for second at 1.8 steals per game.

Another way of looking at that: The gap (1.2) between Daniels and the second-place players in steals is the same as the gap between the second-place players and 167th place.

In other words, there is nobody in the NBA that is better at it than him right now.

He has gradually improved his steal numbers in each of his first three seasons and has completely gone off with them this season.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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