NBA results, news: Dyson Daniels on his NBA rookie season, desire to play for Boomers
Dyson Daniels says he will be part of the Boomers’ camp before this year’s World Cup, and the Pelicans star says he’s confident the Boomers will make history and win it all.
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Australian NBA young gun Dyson Daniels says he will be part of the Boomers’ camp ahead of the FIBA World Cup and has dreams of partnering with good mate Josh Giddey to lead Australian basketball into a golden era.
Back in Australia after his maiden NBA season, Daniels spoke with Michael Randall about achieving his NBA goal, pursuit of the green and gold, becoming a young millionaire and pride in his family.
BOOM TIME
“You will see me at the Boomers camp.”
With those words, Dyson Daniels joined Josh Giddey as Australia’s two brightest young stars committed to representing their country at August’s FIBA World Cup.
For 20-year-old Daniels, making the final squad, which will be selected out of the August camp in Cairns, would be another goal achieved in what has been a meteoric ascension into world basketball – but he knows it’s going to be tough.
It’s a case of sooner, rather than later that every member of the national team will be an NBA player and the Bendigo boy will face off with a bunch of seasoned pros and Olympic bronze medallists for a chance to wear the green and gold on the biggest stage.
“It’s going to be a tough team to make but I’m going to be there and hopefully I’m at the World Cup,” Daniels said.
“I really love my country and I love the culture they’ve got at the Boomers so to be able to play for them one day would be a dream come true.”
He and Giddey share an unbreakable bond, first teaming up as pre-teens at the U12 National Championships, each representing Australia at junior level and cutting their teeth together at Canberra’s elite Centre of Excellence talent factory.
“Josh and I, we grew up playing with each other, we had the same dream of getting to the NBA, we get along with each other, we’re able to talk s**t about each other and still have that friendship and cameraderie,” Daniels said.
“We’re always talking, after a good game, we’ll message each other, we bounce off each other and we’ve got each others’ back.
“It’s good to have him in my corner.”
Daniels and Giddey are the faces of the Boomers for the next decade but he believes the time is now for gold.
“The aim is to play for the Boomers together at the highest level and hopefully go get a gold medal,” Daniels said.
“I think we can (win gold at this year’s World Cup). We’ve got a really good team, we’ve got great chemistry.
“We’ve got a lot of NBA guys now and FIBA basketball suits our game more than America, so hopefully we can go knock those big teams off.”
YEAR ONE IN THE BOOKS
Nabbed at pick No. 8 by New Orleans in last year’s NBA draft, Daniels’ elite defensive ability immediately caught the eye.
Ankle issues in both feet hampered him at different times during his rookie season but he still managed to appear in 59 games, making 11 starts and putting up 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists
The 201cm guard says every high and every low was an opportunity to learn.
“It was my childhood dream to be here so it’s still surreal to me,” Daniels said.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of things I can learn from and improve on.
“I’m hungry for year two because I know I can be so much better.”
He feels a trust from the Pelicans coaching staff, especially second-year leading man Willie Green.
“During the season it’s about staying aggressive and making sure I stay confident in myself, because they believe in me, they want me to have the ball in my hands and create for my teammates,” he said.
“This off-season, there’s a lot of things I can work on. Different finishes, playing through more contact, working on ball handling with pressure.
“My shot has come a long way but that can still be better.”
Among his off-season goals is adding muscle to his long – 210cm wingspan – lean frame.
“I’m definitely not the strongest guy, there’s a lot of bigger bodies in the NBA, you can get knocked off balance pretty easily, so getting stronger through the hips, stronger through the upper body and coming back with a few more kilos of muscle, that’s a big one for me this off-season,” he said.
THE GOOD ROOK
Part and parcel of the requirements of a first-year NBA player is fulfilling your duties to the veterans.
Call it a form of rookie hazing. There is the odd horror story, but Daniels never fell victim.
“My duties were carrying people’s bags, go and pick up food before the plane, I had to go buy a couple of phones for some people, had to buy Airpods, I was really just getting sent everywhere,” he said.
“I’m happy I’m not a rookie anymore – the rookies can do my duties next year.
“I didn’t get any punishments because I always made sure I got the job done, but I’ve heard stories of rookie’s cars getting filled up with popcorn and stuff like that.”
It’s a good thing, too. One of the few big ticket items he used some of the US$5.5 million he earned in his rookie season was a BMW X6M, worth around $200,000 – you don’t want popcorn butter on that leather.
He’s made sure not to fall into the traps that lay in front of any young millionaire.
“I’ve got to be smart with my money, save and invest,” he said.
“I’ve got a good financial adviser and good parents. It’s good to be able to treat yourself to some luxury things, but you also don’t want to waste it because who knows what can happen in your career?
“I’ve got my own house and I’m looking into property that I want to buy and lease out to people and I’ve got a lot invested in stocks.”
ON DEFENCE AND WHO’S TOO HARD TO GUARD
The instincts and heart that go with his prototypical frame and a thirst to study and learn make Daniels an already-formidable defender.
He’s had to deal with the best of the best almost every time he’s stepped on the floor.
Whether that be superstar guards like Steph Curry, ridiculously athletic power forwards like Giannis Antetokounmpo or big beasts like Nikola Jokic, the Pelicans’ switching defence means he has to be across every player on the court.
The one who stuck out? Giddey’s Oklahoma City back-court running mate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
“You might be surprised, but the toughest guy I’ve had to guard is SGA,” he said.
“He’s super quick, super smart, his angles going to the basket are top tier – if he gets a step on you, it’s really hard to get back in front of him because he goes direct downhill at the basket and attacks your knees and hips.
“He’s got all the tools, he’s got stepbacks, he’s got pumpfakes, he’s really good at drawing fouls, you have to be very disciplined when guarding him.”
That’s not discounting Curry.
“That game against Golden State, I started on Jordan Poole, then I went to Klay (Thompson), then I went to Steph for a few possessions,” he said.
“As soon as I went to Steph, I was tired after two plays. This guy just doesn’t stop.
“I think I chased him over four screens in one play, getting smacked, and they’re used to setting illegal screens down at Golden State. The refs let them go a little bit, but it’s tough guarding him.”
LITTLE BRO, BIG FUTURE
Dad Ricky Daniels moved to Australia to play pro ball and never left. He’s helped guide Dyson Daniels on his road to the NBA.
Dyson Daniels wants to do the same for younger brother Dash Daniels, who, at just 15, has played at the U20 and U18 national championships in the past six months.
“I try to be a positive influence on him, I’m big brother and I love him, but I try to be hard on him too, because I think that’s what he needs,” Dyson Daniels said.
“I really believe in him, I really believe he can make it to the NBA, so I try to keep him in good habits and make sure that he’s doing the right things.
“There’s so much room for him to grow, because he has the skillset to be great.”
The two have spent time battling in the gym while Dyson Daniels is home in Melbourne — and he likes what he sees from little bro.
“I think he’s a little different to me, in that he’s more of a scorer,” Dyson Daniels said.
“He’s probably going to be a bit taller than me. He’s already 6’6” right now and he can really create his own shot for himself.
”He’s got really good defensive instincts as well.
“We have similar frames, but I’d say he’s more of a scorer and I’m more of a playmaker.”
FACING THE ‘GREEK FREAK’: INSIDE COOKS’ SIX-WEEK NBA WHIRLWIND
— Matt Logue
It’s the Boomers pain driving Xavier Cooks to higher heights amid the most successful two-year period of his hoops career.
From consecutive NBL championships to MVPs and an NBA contract with the Washington Wizards, Cooks has ticked plenty of basketball boxes.
For all his recent triumphs, though, the boy from Ballarat is yet to fulfil his international dreams for the Boomers.
Cooks “jumped on his bed out of excitement” when he made Australia’s 2019 World Cup squad, before he was cruelling ruled out after suffering a knee injury in practice.
He then looked destined to don the green and gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before failing to make the final squad.
Cooks still has visions of the Boomers players receiving their singlets for Tokyo while he watched on in despair.
It’s a memory that’s motivating him to make this year’s Australian team for the World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines in August and September.
“It was so sad to see everyone else’s dreams come true while I had come so far but fell just short,” Cooks recalls.
“Hopefully, I can get over the line this time for the World Cup later this year- it would be really cool.
“I’ll be putting my hand up for it.
“Making my first Boomers squad was the coolest moment in my basketball career at the time. It was unbelievable, so I want to do it again.”
Cooks is enjoying well-deserved downtime following a busy yet successful 18-month stretch.
The Wizards picked well 🧙â€â™‚ï¸
— NBL (@NBL) April 22, 2023
From the NBL Championship Series to Washington, Xavier Cooks has not disappointed in his 10 games in the NBA.
We can't wait to see what he can do with a full season in the US 👀 pic.twitter.com/z5q1NljIqO
After lifting another NBL trophy with the Sydney Kings, which paved the way for him to pick up a multi-year NBA contract at Washington, you could understand if the gun forward wanted to switch off basketball.
But when Cooks was contacted for a chat, the self-confessed ‘hoops head’ was immersed in the NBA playoffs action.
“It is probably the most even playoffs I’ve seen in a long time,” he said.
“It is great to watch.”
So, has it actually sunk in that Cooks is a member of the NBA alongside global superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Jimmy Butler?
“Ah, no, not really,” Cooks said.
“The whole time I was over there, it just felt really surreal.
“It will take some time to sink in.”
NBA GRIND
From the outside looking in, the world’s best basketball league is all about bright lights, big moments and big-name players.
Beyond the NBA’s fanfare, though, the grind to remain at the top is mentally tough, according to Cooks.
“I was over there for five or six weeks, and I probably had two off days the whole time,” said Cooks, who played 10 regular season games for the Wizards – including a 10-point, 14-rebound game in a loss to Houston.
“During that period, we aren’t even training often. We had two or three sessions because there are so many games.
“You’ll play one game and jump straight on a plane to the next one.”
Xavier Cooks with his first NBA bucket ✌ï¸#AussieHoops#NBApic.twitter.com/pRbJR9xtpB
— The Pick and Roll 🇦🇺🀠(@PickandRollAU) March 29, 2023
Cooks felt fortunate that Washington’s system was similar to Sydney’s in the NBL.
This familiarity allowed him to find his feet quicker than expected, although he found it a challenge to master the Wizards’ team terminology for set plays.
“It’s easy to memorise them now, but in the speed of the game it’s really tough,” he said.
“Even me trying to call for a switch, they have a different terminology at Washington, so it’s about learning as much as I can so I can master it on the court without thinking and it being second nature.
“That was the toughest adjustment to make in the NBA.”
Cooks also battled with the detailed, and at times tedious task, of scouting reports.
He had become accustomed to studying rival players in the NBL, so he knew to always close out on a player like Jack McVeigh and run him off the line because he is a shooter.
“But in the NBA, I didn’t know everyone’s complete scouting report, so I felt like every close out was a blank slate,” he said.
“I didn’t know if they were a shooter or a driver – so that was tough.
“Then the seventh guy on the scouting report, you won’t be sure about him. “The scouting reports are so in-depth over there, so it’s hard to be across everything in the flow of a game.”
FACE-TO-FACE WITH THE GREEK FREAK
Cooks says no one in the NBA “fan boys” rivals, expect for one player in Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis ‘the Greek Freak’ Antetokounmpo.
“Giannis has that appeal to him where when he walks onto the court, everyone stops and looks at him,” he said.
“From the moment he walks onto the court he is so focused.
“He doesn’t smile – he is so focused on the game.
“It’s a cool way to approach the game and I like the way he approaches it.”
It didn’t end well, but it’s just wild to see former Sydney Kings star and reigning NBL MVP Xavier Cooks guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo 1 on 1.
— NBABeau (@NBABeau) April 5, 2023
Xavier is playing really well. To this point, Xavier had 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting. pic.twitter.com/m9kwbtlJAO
Cooks went head-to-head with Antetokounmpo in April when his Wizards hosted Milwaukee.
He vividly recalls Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr telling him pre-game to keep his composure guarding the Greek Freak.
Unseld stressed to Cooks that Antetokounmpo isn’t the type of guy you can lock down, but you’ve just got to make it tough for him.
“I went in there thinking, ‘I’ve got this’, but from the get-go I quickly realised that I didn’t have it,” said Cooks, who had eight points, two rebounds and one assist in a 140-128 loss to Antetokounmpo’s Bucks.
“You can play great defence, but Giannis is so physically strong and athletic that he just goes straight through you.
“He is an animal.
“I like to get downhill in transition and come at full speed as it can be intimidating for defenders.
“But I remember Giannis coming full speed at me and thinking, ‘oh man, this guy is like a freight train’ and I’m not getting in front of that.”
COOKS’ FAITH IN KINGS
Cooks is a Wizard these days, but his heart will forever remain with the Sydney Kings after winning back-to-back titles in the Harbour City.
The Kings are yet to secure a big-name target in free agency like rivals Perth and Melbourne United.
Cooks, though, isn’t worried and has full faith in Sydney CEO Chris Pongrass to successfully rebuild the Kingdom.
“My dad keeps asking, ‘what are the Kings doing these days?,” he said.
“I’m like, ‘don’t you worry about them.
“Pongrass is a genius – he’ll figure it out.
“They’ll make moves and they’ll be right – they always are.”
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