The primary time Dyson Daniels suited up for the Atlanta Hawks, it was a preseason sport in opposition to the Indiana Pacers. The 21-year-old acquitted himself nicely, scoring 14 factors on 5-for-8 capturing with three assists in 21 minutes, and exhibiting indicators that his measurement, size and exercise may make him an excellent complement for Trae Younger — a transcendent playmaker with the ball in his palms however a frequent goal on the opposite finish of the ground.
“We have a plan defensively as a team, what we want to take away,” Daniels after the preseason affair. “And every team’s different. [The Pacers] have so many good individual players, and a guy like [Pascal] Siakam, you want to take away his right hand. A guy like [Tyrese] Haliburton, you want to take away his step back.”
The sport-plan chatter and know-your-personnel specifics, although, solely served to elide and obscure the key reality pounding contained in the Aussie’s coronary heart: What Dyson Daniels needs to remove most, from each offensive participant, is the ball. And if we’ve realized something within the opening month of the 2024-25 NBA season, it’s this: He’s actually, actually good at doing it.
If you happen to’re one of many masochistic sickos who stored tabs on the chaos-racked Pelicans over the previous few seasons — [ at you ] — you already knew that the 6-foot-8 Daniels might sit down and guard. Chosen eighth total within the 2022 NBA Draft out of the G League Ignite incubator program, Daniels confirmed spectacular flashes of havoc-wreaking in New Orleans, rating close to the highest of the NBA in and per minute final season. However with Herb Jones firmly ensconced as the highest stopper within the beginning lineup, with Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III all in line for starters’ minutes on the perimeter, and with the Pelicans wanting so as to add one other ball-handler and shot creator to , New Orleans shipped Daniels — together with veteran large males Larry Nance Jr. and Cody Zeller, and two future first-round picks — to Atlanta for Dejounte Murray.
The Pels have but to reap the hoped-for advantages of the deal; Murray hasn’t performed since on opening night time. Atlanta, nonetheless, has seen the jewel of its return pay rapid dividends. Daniels has shortly cemented himself not solely as a starter alongside Younger within the backcourt for Quin Snyder’s , however because the NBA’s premier pickpocket: enters the Hawks’ Monday matchup with the Dallas Mavericks main the NBA in and . By, like, so much.
Daniels is averaging 3.2 steals per sport, a full steal forward of Oklahoma Metropolis’s Jalen Williams and Houston’s Tari Eason, placing him on tempo to be because the NBA began monitoring steals in 1973-74 to common three thefts a sport — and the primary to do it .
Daniels has logged an obscene in 15 video games, which not solely leads the league; it’s 37 greater than the participant in second place, De’Aaron Fox, who has performed 138 extra minutes than Daniels. The hole between first-place Daniels and second-place Fox is similar because the hole between Fox and 76ers ahead Caleb Martin … .
Daniels has secured a steal on 4.4% of opponents’ possessions, and has blocked a shot on 2.7% of their offensive journeys. In keeping with , solely three gamers had ever posted a steal charge above 4% and a block charge above 2% earlier than this season: Scottie Pippen and Nate McMillan in 1994-95, and Tony Allen in 2010-11. (Daniels is considered one of three gamers doing it thus far , alongside Eason and Thunder chaos agent Alex Caruso.)
Watch Daniels defend, and it’s hanging how he manages to be seemingly all over the place — he’s sixth amongst rotation gamers in , and fifteenth in , based on Second Spectrum — with out sacrificing soundness in service of the splash play. He sticks to Job No. 1 for any defender, retaining the ball in entrance through the use of his fast ft to reflect his mark’s actions, and the core energy in that 6-foot-8 body to soak up bumps from attackers whereas nonetheless sustaining his steadiness. He retains himself in place to chop off their drives, contest their pictures … and, in the event that they expose the ball for even a blink of an eye fixed, relieve them of the burden of dealing with it.
It not often appears like he’s freelancing his approach out of place, and but, every time the ball’s in play, he simply apparates. Inbounds passes aren’t secure. Entry passes to the submit and elbow aren’t secure. Skips to the nook aren’t secure.
Crossovers aren’t secure, irrespective of how tight your deal with is. Energy dribbles within the paint aren’t secure, irrespective of how robust your palms are. Turning your again to him as you attempt to mouse-in-the-house his teammate on the block? Undoubtedly not secure.
Even dribble handoffs aren’t secure. Daniels will blow these up, staying linked to the ball-handler as he curls across the display screen and forcing his solution to the ball, like a blitzing linebacker knifing into the backfield. (He even talks about it like a soccer participant: )
And if you happen to assume you’ve blocked it up, been capable of bump him off the play, flip the nook and get downhill to the basket? Assume once more: Daniels, nonetheless in pursuit like a heat-seeking horror film villain, will shut the sport along with his 6-foot-10.5-inch wingspan and poke the ball out from behind.
Daniels is producing one of many extra disruptive particular person defensive seasons in latest reminiscence, rating within the 99th percentile in perimeter isolation protection, passing lane protection and defensive playmaking, based on ’s sport charting. And he’s doing it with out having the posh of taking less-threatening offensive assignments in order that he can muck issues up by enjoying free security: Lining up subsequent to Younger, Daniels routinely — Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephen Curry, Jalen Brunson, De’Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine, et al. — and, because of this, has posted the best common matchup problem within the NBA to date, per The BBall Index.
There’s nonetheless lots to determine for Snyder and Co. on a Hawks staff that enters Monday’s motion at 7-10, comfortably enmeshed of their established dwelling inside the play-in event spots. Daniels, too, nonetheless has a protracted solution to go — particularly on the offensive finish, the place he’s capturing , and has missed two-thirds of his whole makes an attempt over his , with an assist-to-turnover ratio barely above 1-to-1. However whereas he stays a piece in progress on the offensive finish, and whereas his particular person play hasn’t resulted in extinguish-every-star-you-encounter performances, he’s making an affect within the space the place the Hawks have lengthy wanted it most: They permit practically with Daniels on the ground than when he’s off of it.
Via the primary month of the season, the distinction between Atlanta defending at its customary bottom-five degree and getting stops at a roughly league-average clip — a charge the Hawks haven’t managed since its shock 2021 Jap Convention finals run — has been the 21-year-old prowling the perimeter, making the theme from “Jaws” run by way of ball-handlers’ heads. Daniels started his tenure in Atlanta by emphasizing the significance of understanding your personnel; now, he’s turn out to be the sort of point-of-attack menace that offenses need to know, lest he wreck their total game-plan, one poke, swipe or swat at a time.
