Hawks' Daniels wins Most Improved Player

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was named Most Improved Player for the 2024-25 season, the NBA announced Wednesday.

Daniels beat out Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac for the award.

The Australian earned 44 first-place votes, Zubac got 23, and Cunningham finished with 15. Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun and Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves rounded out the top five.

Daniels averaged career highs in points (14.1), rebounds (5.9), and assists (4.4) while leading the NBA with 3.0 steals per game in 2024-25. He raised his scoring average by 8.3 points compared to last season.

However, where Daniels really shined was on the defensive end of the floor. "The Great Barrier Thief" led the NBA in total deflections (443) and deflections per game (5.8) while swiping a league-high 229 steals. His steals tally was 98 more than that of the Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had the second most.

Daniels is the first Most Improved Player to average three-plus steals per game since the inaugural winner of the award, Alvin Robertson, in 1986.

In his first year with the Hawks, Daniels appeared in 76 games while playing 33.6 minutes per contest as a full-time starter for the first time in his career. He also shot career highs of 49.3% from the field and 34% from three.

Daniels is the second Hawk to win Most Improved Player, joining Alan Henderson (1997-98).