Dyson Daniels continues to go where no other Australian Boomer has gone before by collecting first-time NBA All-Defensive honours, his third individual post-season trophy.
The 6’7” Atlanta Hawks guard is named to the Association’s All-Defensive first team, alongside OKC’s Luguentz Dort, Warriors veteran Draymond Green, the Rockets’ Amen Thompson, and the Cavs’ Evan Mobley, the NBA’s defensive player on the year.
Daniels, whose talents for forcing turnovers has earned him the nickname “Great Barrier Thief”, is just the third Boomer to have his name etched to the All-Defensive team, after Andrew Bogut (second team in 2015) and Ben Simmons (first team in 2020 and 2021).
The 2024-25 season was a breakout one for Daniels, a Bendigo native who, after a trade from New Orleans Pelicans, turned it up from 5.8 to 14 points per game, to go with a league-leading 3 steals per game.
The 22-year-old also won the Association’s most-improved player award, a first for an Australian native, and nabbed a league trophy for his preeminent ball-stealing abilities, notching the best tally this century (Simmons topped the steals category in 2020).
View this post on InstagramLove Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Daniels is living the hoops dream. He owns his own streetwear range, Vouseti, its goods modelled by some of his teammates, and he was one of the outstanding players on the Australian Boomers’ otherwise ordinary 2024 Paris Olympics campaign.
Linking up with Chicago Bulls standout Josh Giddey, Daniels completes a talented young guard tandem that should lead the national team for a decade, or more.
The secret to his gift of theft isn’t much of a secret. “Some people just don’t want to play defense. I do,” Daniels told Rolling Stone AU/NZ during the 2024-25 regular season, for which the Hawks finished with a 40-42 record, good enough for eighth in the NBA Eastern Conference.
“I’ve always been pretty good with my hands and with stealing the ball since I was playing juniors back in Bendigo. Coming into the NBA my offense was below average. For me to get on the floor, it was my defense that stood out. That’s what earned me my minutes and then the more and more I’ve come comfortable in the league, the more my offense has come along.”
Almost every aspect of Daniels’ game is tracking up, including field-goal and three-point shooting percentage, assists, blocks and rebounds. But it’s his D that’s turning heads.
“I’ve always had a mind for defense. That’s what I pride my game on. I think I read the game really well. I have quick hands and, you know, a good defensive IQ, 6’ 7” length, which is a recipe to be a good defender. It’s effort as well,” he said.
After their respective teams were knocked out of the title race, Daniels and Giddey were spotted courtside at domestic basketball games in Australia. Just four teams remain in the NBA play-offs: New York, Indiana Pacers (both Eastern Conference), Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder (Western Conference).
Veteran swingman Joe Ingles (Timberwolves) and rookie Johnny Furphy (Pacers) are among the Australian ballers chasing the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
