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Hawks’ Dyson Daniels Leading Defensive Player Of The Year Race

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Atlanta Hawks playmaker Dyson Daniels (2025 Defensive Player of the Year candidate)

The Atlanta Hawks may not have known that Dyson Daniels would breakout this quickly.

Hawks’ Dyson Daniels Leading Defensive Player Of The Year Race

Before he was drafted, Daniels looked like he could emerge as a two-way force with his blend of length, ball skills, and defensive instincts. Nevertheless, the New Orleans Pelicans had several players who they were more invested in. What made their use of Daniels even more questionable was that they needed a point guard to organize their offense.

Initially, there was confusion about why the Hawks didn’t acquire Brandon Ingram in the Dejounte Murray deal.

After all, they had been linked to the star forward in trade talks. However, Daniels quickly put those questions to bed. Fans were treated to a small taste of what he could bring in the preseason. In those four contests, the 2022 No. 8 pick averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38.1 percent from 3.

Many raved about his upside as an off-ball threat. Others still took note of his perimeter defense. He might not have been as skilled a scorer as Ingram or Murray. Yet, his fit alongside Trae Young was clearly underestimated.

Two-Way Force

Daniels’s regular season has gone even better.

In 61 games, the 6-foot-7 playmaker has averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists per contest. Playing the passing lanes like an NFL defensive back, he leads the NBA with 3.0 steals per contest and 362 total deflections. He also has a league-leading 209 defensive stops. Looking at NBA.com’s advanced stats, Daniels has been holding pick-and-roll ball-handlers to 0.90 points per possession and pick-and-roll roll men to 1.03 points per possession.

At the other end, his efficiency from beyond the arc has regressed towards the mean, as he’s shooting 34.9 percent from deep. Nevertheless, he’s making 37.2 percent of his catch-and-shoot attempts, a career-high. He’s also shown the ability to step up as a scorer, posting nine games with 20+ points.

Most importantly, he’s leading the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year race. At least he should be.

Averaging 3.7 steals and blocks per game combined, he only trails San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama in that category. Likely due to Wembanyama being ruled out for the season in mid-February, which disqualified the Frenchman being disqualified from the Defensive Player of the Year race, he’s now surpassed him to be the league’s leader in combined blocks and steals (229).

Other DPOY Candidates

Given that Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is holding pick-and-roll ball-handlers to 0.90 points per possession and pick-and-roll roll men to 0.83 points per possession, he can’t be ignored in the Defensive Player of the Year conversations. On post-ups, his matchups score 0.93 points per possession.

Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. is holding pick-and-roll ball-handlers to 0.84 points per possession and pick-and-roll roll men to 0.85 points per possession. On post-ups, his matchups score 1.04 points per possession.

Then there’s Portland Trail Blazers sophomore Toumani Camara. Though his counting stats don’t stand out quite like Daniels’s, he’s arguably a top-three wing stopper in the NBA right now.

Each of those players should be considered for the All-Defensive First Team. However, none of them have been quite as impactful as Daniels individually. Thus, the Great Barrier Thief should be on his way to winning this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

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