When the Atlanta Hawks traded for Dyson Daniels last summer, they knew he had all the tools to be a lockdown perimeter defender. However, there were a lot of questions surrounding his offensive game. Could his shooting and ball handling improve? How would he look in a higher usage role? It is safe to say Daniels answered these questions with flying colors, as he takes home the 2024-25 Most Improved Player (MIP) award. He numbers increased across the board on both ends of the floor, and he even leaped into defensive stardom, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. It is safe to say Hawks found a key player for their future in the “Great Barrier Thief.”
Dyson Daniels Wins 2024-25 Most Improved Player
Daniels Thrives Offensively in First Starting Role
Over his first two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, Daniels started 27 games and averaged 22.3 minutes per game in his sophomore campaign. He started 76 games for the Hawks and played 33.8 minutes per contest, which placed him second on the team behind Trae Young. Daniels immediately thrived in short-roll situations with Young. Whether it was a pass to a corner three-point shooter or finishing with a spin move and floater, Daniels’ offensive confidence grew as the season progressed.
Asked Dyson about the spin move and how he knows when he’s going to use it:
“If you get a bump, you’re usually going to take a step back, and I use that momentum to spin and get to my [floater]” https://t.co/lxiVdHrbYK pic.twitter.com/5QqfPpQheF
— Malik Brown (@_MalikATL) March 11, 2025
Daniels upped his points per game from 5.8 in the 2023-24 campaign to 14.1 this season. In New Orleans, he did not have a single 20-point performance. That number bumped to 12 in one season, including a career-high 28-point performance against the Boston Celtics. One of the biggest reasons for Daniels’ extreme points bump is his usage. He increased his usage percentage by 5.7% compared to a year ago, finishing at 18.3% in his MIP campaign. When Jalen Johnson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in January, Daniels took on an even bigger offensive load, averaging over 14 points per game over the final four months.
Defensively, Daniels put up historic numbers. He averaged a whopping three steals per game- the first player to do so since Alvin Robertson in the 1990-91 season. He is also the first guard to lead the association in steals and blocks since Michael Jordan in 1978-88. Daniels developed a versatile defensive reputation in New Orleans, but he upped the ante in Atlanta. He will be a defensive pest for opposing backcourts for years to come.
Daniels Has More Room to Grow
As a prospect entering the 2022 NBA Draft, Daniels’ outside shooting was a big question mark. He shot 34% from deep on 3.1 attempts this season, which marks a 0.9 volume increase and 3% improvement from a season ago. Due to Daniels’ struggles from outside, the opposition often doubled Young using his defender. Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder’s biggest counter to this was using Daniels in the short roll, where he thrived. However, the Hawks are at their best when Johnson and Young operate in the pick-and-roll. The three-point shot will be vital for Daniels to take advantage of defenses collapsing on Atlanta’s star combo in the 2025-26 campaign. At just 22 years of age, the Hawks found themselves a building block for the future.
Photo credit: © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
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