'Dyson with history': Best still to come for Daniels

• Dyson Daniels won the 2024-25 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year Award
• Daniels finished second in the 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
• How to watch the NBA Rising Stars Invitational

Australian Dyson Daniels is the NBA's Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year finalist but he's barely scratched the surface of his potential, Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Ronald Nored told basketball.com.au.

"I think when we acquired Dyson, we had an idea about what he was capable of, especially from a defensive standpoint and that was true to form," the former Indiana Pacers assistant Nored said.

"I think early in camp, but really as the games started, and Dyson's guarding some of the best players in the world on each of the teams, he was getting a lot of steals early in the season at a rate that many of us haven't seen.

"There's a lot of guys that get steals, but the way that he was getting steals, and the pressure he played with, and the difficulty that he created for the offense was something that we saw early."

The No.8 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft surprised many experts and fans with his standout 2024-25 season, playing in 76 games and starting in most on his way to 33 minutes per contest, and averaging career-high figures of 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists as he helped the Hawks to the seventh in the Eastern Conference before they were bundled out of the play-in tournament with back-to-back losses.

However, the figures which put Daniels in rarefied air were his defensive numbers. The Bendigo-born guard led the league in steals with three per game but in total, had the most steals (229) since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season.

The next closest in steals was OKC superstar and 2024-25 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 131, Clippers guard Kris Dunn (128) and Denver's Nikola Jokić on 127. He was the first player since Scottie Pippen 30 years ago to have more than 200 steals and 50 blocks in a single NBA season.

Daniels also had the most deflections in the NBA with 448 in total and 5.8 per game.

After he was traded to the Hawks in July 2024 in the deal which sent Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, Nored said the Hawks knew what they were getting when they acquired Daniels,

As the season started to progress and Daniels' defensive reputation started to grow, Nored said you could see teams plan specifically for the defensive pressure the 2024 Olympian applied for the Hawks. But the Boomers star still found a way.

"I think that overall, those ball handlers that he's guarding, it's that the other team doesn't want Dyson guarding them and, so, getting other guys involved in the action with Dyson, I think was something that we saw over the course of the year," he said.

"But Dyson finds a way to mitigate that with his own abilities and instincts defensively," he said.

"Credit to him for continuing to find ways to impact the game as teams started to game plan it a little bit against him.

While Daniels obviously made a name for himself on the defensive end, Nored said the impact the third-year player had on the Hawks offensively was underestimated.

"I think over the course of the season, we started to see him grow confidence offensively as well, in his shooting, his attacking.

"We saw that in the Olympics, obviously how confident he was offensively, but I think just over the course of the season, how confident he became offensively was really became a turning point for him.

"He's early in his career, this year he played so many minutes, so many more games than he has in his NBA career to this point.

"So, as that continues, and the experience continues to grow, he'll continue to find ways to impact the game offensively.

"But I think everyone was pleased with his growth in that area this year."

The emergence of Daniels, along with the length and athleticism of last year's No.1 draft pick in Zaccherie Rissacher, the injured Jalen Johnson and centre Onyeka Okongwu to go alongside star guard Trae Young - Atlanta quickly changed the perception of their team from a floundering franchise in the Eastern Conference to a young side on the rise that has many experts and fans taking notice of the Hawks.

And Nored said Dyson had a lot to do with the identity the Hawks have built under head coach Quinn Snyder.

"There's no question about that. Because (Dyson is) so good defensively, if he's playing really hard, it's hard to be on the court with him and not go as hard," he said.

"I think he inspires guys, just with his toughness with his physicality, with his commitment to defence.

"He has some, some pretty impressive abilities around the rim and transition this year offensively, as well as in one-on-one situations offensively that help really lift the group.

"Dyson's a quiet guy, but with the way that he plays and the way he approaches every day, it really gives the guys a lift."

Nored was one of the coaches present at the Basketball Without Borders camp in Singapore and said events like that helped identify international prospects like Daniels.

"This is my second opportunity to do this and just the opportunity to work with young players around the world to give them guidance and NBA coaching, as well as to have NBA players here that they can spend time with, and that they're watching on a regular basis, I think really helps grow the game," he said.

"I think the NBA is doing a great job of that. Given these boys and girls exposure to the NBA at a young age, I think it allows them to see a future that maybe otherwise, maybe they wouldn't see. Now they kind of get to taste it and touch it as well.

"So kudos to the NBA for doing this and for the federations around the world to allow us to be able to work with all these wonderful young players."