The Great Barrier Thief. The Vacuum. Block-adile Dundee. In American professional sports, where nicknames are a badge of honour, Dyson Daniels is highly decorated.
The high-flying Australian guard is enjoying a breakout season, his first with the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. With his impressive two-way play and lightning quick hands, Daniels is a beast in a discipline that many of the league’s superstars want little to do with.
Daniels is a defensive specialist, a league–no, world—leader in stealing the ball.
Following the Hawks’ 120-118 victory against Indiana Pacers on the weekend, in which Daniels captured five steals, the 21-year-old became the third-youngest player in NBA history to record 175-plus steals and 40-plus blocks in a season. He’s in fine company. The other players on that list are LeBron James, who made the leap from high school to the Association, and the retired Los Angeles Lakers great Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
When the regular season wraps up, Daniels will become just the second Australian Boomer to lead a major statistical category, an accolade that comes with a trophy (Andrew Bogut led the league in blocks back in 2010–11). It’s not even close. Daniels, with his 3 steals per game, is more than 50% better than the next best in the list, Kris Dunn and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, both on 1.8 steals per game.
In a league where crowd-pleasing razzle dazzle has become more commonplace than old-school, get your hands dirty defense, Daniels is a purist’s dream.
The secret to this gift of theft, well, it isn’t much of a secret. “Some people just don’t want to play defense. I do,” Daniels tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ.
“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 earn me my minutes and then the more and more I’ve come comfortable in the league, the more my offense has come along.”
As he finds his way in his third pro season, Daniels has lifted his productivity across the board. Points are up from 5.8 per game last season with the Pelicans to almost 14ppg this time with the Hawks, and his play has placed him in the mix for defensive play of the year. Surely a spot on an all-NBA defensive team awaits. Rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, they’re all up. And it all comes back to D.
“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.”
Daniels is living the hoops dream. He owns his own streetwear range, Vouseti, its goods modelled by some of his teammates. And by earning a contract in the Association, he’s recognised as one of the best 400 ballers on the planet. “I’m starting to get more accustomed to it, but any time you go to a big arena like Maidson Square Garden and play the Knicks, playing the Lakers, playing LeBron, it’s still a pinch yourself moment,” he remarks. “This is the best stage in the world. I’m just making the most of it day by day and trying to be the best version of myself.
After starring with the Boomers in an otherwise underwhelming Paris Olympics campaign, Daniels and Chicago Bulls star Josh Giddey will be expected to lead the national team as old father time catches up with stalwarts Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, and Matthew Dellavedova. “That core group has been around for the last 10, 15 years. These guys have built the Boomers culture, trailblazed the way for young guys like me to come through,” says Daniels. “Now it’s our turn to carry on that legacy and take the Boomers to another level. It’s up to us to keep it going.”
