Dyson Daniels, Boomers’ defensive beast, on why he is built to contain Canada’s NBA stars
He might only be one game into his Olympics career but Boomers defensive beast Dyson Daniels has boldly declared he is built to contain Canada’s NBA stars.
They might not have swagger and hype of the Dream Team, but Canada’s SGA could walk straight into Team USA and his teammate Jamal Murray would be knocking on the door.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray average a combined 50 points a game in the NBA, and this is the immense challenge facing new Boomers defender Dyson Daniels.
But Daniels has boldly declared he is built to contain Canada’s NBA stars.
Daniels was a demon on defence in a memorable Olympic debut for Australia in Saturday’s commanding win over arch rivals Spain.
The New Orleans Pelicans star regularly picked up the half-court defence, menacing the Spanish with his active hands and high hoops IQ.
Daniels now faces one of the toughest tasks in world basketball – stopping the offensively deadly combination of Murray and SGA in the Boomers’ second group stage match on Tuesday from 9.30pm (AEST).
It might be the pair’s first Olympic campaign, but they’ve achieved significant heights in the NBA.
Murray won a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023 and is one of the game’s finest clutch finishers.
Gilgeous-Alexander was an MVP finalist last season after guiding the OKC Thunder to the No.1 seed in the Western Conference.
Both stars averaged 21.2 and 30.1 points respectively last NBA season.
Daniels knows it’s a formidable task to stop Murray and Gilgeous-Alexander, but he is up for the challenge.
In fact, he told this masthead that he takes pride in trying to contain the best basketball players on the planet.
“It’s going to be hard, but that’s what I do, I defend, pick them up and make it tough on them,” Daniels said.
“I’ve always wanted to guard the best players on the (other) team. To have MVP candidates coming here and to get the opportunity to against those guys is special.
“It’s going to be a whole other challenge with those type of guys. They are very crafty and they get downhill, so it’s going to be tough, but we’re going to be up for the challenge.”
Canada is coming off a hard-fought 86-79 win over a Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Greece side.
Antetokounmpo dropped 34 points, but it wasn’t enough as Gilgeous-Alexander (21) and fellow NBA star RJ Barrett (23) combined to steer the Canadians to victory.
Daniels is expecting a torrid clash against Canada, but says the Boomers will be ready after physically taking it to Spain.
“They (Canada) have so many good guards and they are very physical and get up in you, so it’s going to be a tough game,” he said.
“But we’re ready for it and we’re looking forward to it.”
Boomers great Andrew Bogut believes Daniels will be Australia’s most important player against Canada.
Bogut has full faith that the 21-year-old from Bendigo can contain Gilgeous-Alexander on the offensive end.
“I hope Dyson starts on him,” Bogut said via the NBL’s The Gold Standard podcast.
“I think if he slows down SGA, they do like to have SGA bring the ball up, so just wearing him down, turning him in the back court, trying to get his legs for later on in the game.
“I think they (Canada) are beatable, I think they play in ebbs and flows, I think they can front run a little bit and they can get in their own head a little bit. I think our physicality is what can probably win this game.”
Daniels is still buzzing after his Olympic debut for the Boomers. He says the opening win over Spain has given him even more energy to excel in the green and gold.
“It has been a long time coming and I’ve been waiting for this moment to finally be out there in front of a huge crowd,” he said.
“Playing with this group of guys is special. Playing on this team makes it easy. “They are very welcoming and we’ve got great chemistry.
“To be out there with a good group of guys representing Australia, there is nothing else that I’d want to be doing right now.”
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