Dyson DanielsAtlanta Hawks · #5
Dyson Daniels is an elite defensive playmaker for the Atlanta Hawks — an Australian ball hawk nicknamed 'The Great Barrier Thief.' Drafted 8th overall in 2022 by New Orleans and traded to Atlanta in the 2024 Dejounte Murray deal, he won 2025 Most Improved Player, led the NBA in steals (3.0 per game, the first 3-steal average since Alvin Robertson in 1991), and made back-to-back All-Defensive teams. He signed a four-year, $100 million extension in 2025.
Dyson Daniels — the report card
Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.
Where Dyson Daniels stands
Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.
Dyson Daniels — every number, three levels deep
Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.
How the model sees Dyson Daniels
Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.
Dyson Daniels career stats, season by season
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 59 | 17.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.3 | .418 | .314 |
| 2023-24 | 61 | 22.3 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 2.7 | .447 | .311 |
| 2024-25 | 76 | 33.8 | 14.1 | 5.9 | 4.4 | .493 | .340 |
| 2025-26 | 76 | 33.2 | 11.9 | 6.8 | 5.9 | .517 | .188 |
| Career | 272 | 27.6 | 9.4 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
The Lab
Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.
Are the Atlanta Hawks built to win?
Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.
The Ballad of Dyson Daniels
Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.
The beginning
The Australian ball hawk with the best hands in basketball — 'The Great Barrier Thief.'
Turning pro
Drafted 8th overall, 2022 as a Guard.
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An Australian kid with the best hands in basketball — who turned steals into a Most Improved award and a $100 million deal.
Chapter
The son of a pro, Daniels skipped college for the NBA Global Academy and G League Ignite before New Orleans took him 8th in 2022.
Chapter
The 2024 Dejounte Murray trade sent him to Atlanta, where his defense exploded — 3.0 steals a game, the first 3-steal average since 1991.
Off the court
- Height
- 6' 7"
- Weight
- 199 lbs
- Experience
- 4th Season
- Draft
- 8th overall, 2022
- Born
- Bendigo, Australia
- Age
- 23
- Jersey
- #5
Daniels is Australian basketball's next great two-way guard, from a hoops family in Bendigo, Victoria: his father Ricky played at NC State and had his jersey retired by the Bendigo Braves, his brother Kai played college ball, and his younger brother Dash is an NBL Next Star. He's a national-team fixture who debuted for the Boomers at 17.
His identity is defense taken to an extreme. Nicknamed 'The Great Barrier Thief' by former teammate Larry Nance Jr., he generates historic steal and deflection totals with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and relentless hands — becoming the youngest player ever to 200 career steals, passing Magic Johnson's mark. The one hole, a shaky perimeter jumper, is the project that stands between him and stardom.
A relentless, instinctive ball hawk — the best perimeter-defending hands in the league.
Dyson Daniels — frequently asked
The questions people ask most about Dyson Daniels, answered.
