Aussie guard Dyson Daniels claims huge NBA honour

Aussie guard Dyson Daniels has claimed a huge NBA award and earned massive plaudits from his Atlanta Hawks teammates.

Fresh off winning his first NBA award, Dyson Daniels has received some incredible praise from some of his Atlanta Hawks teammates.

The 21-year-old Aussie has set the NBA alight this year with his tenacity at the defensive end of the court.

Traded from New Orleans to Atlanta heading into the 2024-25 season, the Boomers guard has taken his game to a whole new level under Hawks coach Quin Snyder.

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Dyson is leading the league in total steals (64), average steals per game (3.0) and deflections (135).

He is 16 steals ahead of the next best, Houston forward Tari Eason’s 46, and a whopping 54 in front in deflections, with Sacramento superstar De’Aaron Fox way back on 81.

It all resulted in Daniels claiming the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month award for October/November, the first time the honour has been dished out.

Dyson Daniels (right) is leading the league in steals and deflections. (Photo by Kevin C Cox/Getty Images via AFP)

Daniels is in good company, with San Antonio phenom Victor Wembanyama — who leads the league in blocks and is eighth in deflections — taking out the Western Conference award.

Daniels was also singled out for a cheeky act on Thursday, donning Giannis Antetokounmpo’s signature shoes in a game against the NBA superstar, as you can see in the video player above.

Ahead of Atlanta’s win over the Bucks, a number of his teammates were asked about the contribution of the youngster from Bendigo.

It started with forward Larry Nance Jr, who spent the last two seasons watching Daniels develop at the Pelicans and was part of the trade that landed the Aussie in Atlanta.

“It’s something I’ve seen for the last two years in New Orleans,” Nance said on NBA TV.

“It’s just really cool to see him get the recognition he deserves for his defensive instincts and timing.

“The dude is ridiculous.”

Larry Nance Jr (left) spent two seasons with Daniels (right) in New Orleans. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Hawks centre Clint Capela, another defensive juggernaut, had a huge claim about Daniels’ impact on their young side.

“He’s just so active on the defensive end, always ready to pick up full-court the best guys,” he said.

“I really feel he makes it hard every single night for the best guys on the opposite team by stealing the ball, by being active, by making it so hard for them with such consistency.

“Every night, not missing games, staying healthy, and he’s probably the biggest part of our team being a top 10 defensive team right now.”

Sweet shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has spent the past seven seasons in the NBA, believes Daniels is on track for higher honours.

San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Defensive Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in October/November, becoming the first recipients of the new award. pic.twitter.com/tDMp2T6wny

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) December 3, 2024

“He inspires me, he inspires everyone in our team to play better defence,” he said.

“We definitely learn a lot from him.

“How to stay in front of our guy, how to impact on the defensive end of the floor.

“We appreciate Dyson and it’s a well deserved award and hopefully he can win Defensive Player of the Year.”

That echoed the thoughts of Atlanta legend Dominique Wilkins, who said earlier this week of Daniels “if he keeps going the way he’s going, he’s going to be the Defensive Player of the Year”.

Fans reacted to the new award, comparing the 201cm Daniels with 221cm giant Wembanyama and their capabilities.

“Those two gonna win every month, what’s the point of this award,” came one cheeky comment on X.

Dyson Daniels (left) is starring for the Hawks. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

“Polar opposites fighting for the DPOY, love to see it,” wrote another.

“It’s nice to emphasise this overlooked part of the game by giving a monthly award. Good idea!” added a third.

Another just wrote “Dyson Daniels” with four fire emojis.

The Hawks have improved to 12-11 on the season after their 119-104 win over the Bucks, which was their fifth straight victory.

After the game, Bogdanovic – who had a career-high five steals as part of a top defensive effort against Milwaukee – again shouted out his Aussie teammate.

“I told you Dyson is a huge inspiration for everyone to play defence,” he said with a huge smile.

“What did we talk about before the game? Huge inspiration Dyson Daniels.”

Two wins in Atlanta’s current streak came against Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland (19-3 record), with the Hawks’ next clash at home against the Lakers on Saturday.

Originally published as Aussie guard Dyson Daniels claims huge NBA honour