After the New Orleans Pelicans traded Dyson Daniels to the Atlanta Hawks, he seized every advantage of his increased opportunity. Hawks head coach Quin Snyder gave him the nod as the starting shooting guard, and he responded to the promotion magnificently, passing with flying colors. The Australian guard took home Most Improved Player, First Team All-Defense honors, and a runner-up finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting in his debut season with the franchise.
So, surprisingly, his 2025-26 campaign is off to a rocky start. Three games into the season, Daniels is averaging just 6.0 points per game, and shooting 41.2% from the field on 5.7 attempts. Ironically, Atlanta’s upgrades in the offseason could play a part in Daniels’ opening week frustrations.
Dyson Daniels Has Struggled To Start 2025-26 Season
Jalen Johnson’s Return, Kristaps Porzingis’ Arrival
Last season, the Hawks finished with a 40-42 record and were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament. Bearing that in mind, they’ve taken part in the play-in every season since its onset (2022). This summer though, they made moves to change that. To be specific, Kristaps Porziņģis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Luke Kennard joined the team, adding valuable championship and veteran leadership in Atlanta.
The starting center upgrade and Jalen Johnson’s return mean there are less shots to go around. Daniels still seems to be adjusting to his new responsibility in the offense.
In 2024-25, Daniels posted career highs of 14.1 points, 4.4 assists, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. When Johnson went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in January, Daniels had to take on a larger role. Indeed, his usage increased from 16.8% in the first three months to 18.6% in the final four months of the season. After the New Year, he never averaged fewer than 14.0 points per game in any month.
Daniels handled and shot the ball more last season, while also playing backup point guard behind Trae Young. This gave him more opportunities to playmake and drive downhill in the pick-and-roll. However, this season, Alexander-Walker, Kennard, and Johnson have had the ball in their hands most of the time when the Hawks’ All-Star star guard sits.
Daniels Gets To His Spot, But Results Aren’t There
Daniels frequently leaned on his spin move-floater combination in the paint last season.
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
Using his height (6’8″) and strength, the former eighth overall pick was able to create space for an open look. Even though opposing teams knew it was coming, he enjoyed success with this move. It’s been a different story at the start of 2025-26. Through three games, Daniels is 7-17 from the field, including 6-14 from inside of nine feet. In short, he’s struggling to finish at the rim and inside the paint.
These efficiency numbers will increase. One encouraging sign has been his tighter handle.
Dyson Daniels handle looks way more functional
He’s been getting downhill easier than he did last season pic.twitter.com/JbrEmN51Zf
— Hawks Film Room (@atlhawksfilm) October 7, 2025
During the Hawks’ preseason matchup against the Houston Rockets, Daniels pulled off this impressive in-and-out, crossover combination move against a great perimeter defender in Tari Eason. To that point, despite his inefficiency, he’s getting past his defender more often and driving all the way to the rim. His 2-point efficiency projects to increase as a result.
It’s also worth noting that the Hawks faced the Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder in two of their first three regular season games. Both squads have great length and size down low to protect the paint.
© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The post Hawks: Why Dyson Daniels’ 2025-26 Season Is Off To Rocky Start appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.