Indisputable case for Dyson Daniels to win NBA DPOY

• Dyson Daniels on pace to record the first 200+ steals season since Chris Paul in 2008-09
• He is leading the league in deflections per game and total deflections
• Marcus Smart, the last guard to win DPOY, had just 128 steals in 2021-22

Australian guard Dyson Daniels at 21-years-old is already the best on-ball defender in the NBA, therefore making him the best perimeter defender in the world, ergo the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Bendigo-born Daniels is leading the NBA in steals with 178, averaging three per game over 59 games for the 30-34 Atlanta Hawks.

The next closest is OKC superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 112 and Denver's Nikola Jokić on 102. Both the leading NBA MVP candidates. Daniels already has more than Paul George (170) secured in 2018-19 for the entire season. George had the most steals in the past seven seasons up until Daniels smashed that total like a cheap guitar this year.

Bookmark >> Dyson Daniels 2024-25 Steals Tracker <<

The fact Daniels isn't the red hot favourite to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year is well, quite frankly, laughable.

The favourite is Cleveland Cavaliers rim protector Evan Mobley, who is averaging 1.6 blocks per game to go with 9.4 rebounds (7.1 on the defensive end) for the 53-10 Eastern Conference leaders.

StatMuse.com has Evan Mobley with a defensive rating of 107.6 points this season while Daniels is 110.9.
(Defensive rating is DRTG = 100 × (points allowed)/(possessions).

It would be a potential deal breaker if Mobley was No1 in DRtg but he's not. He's seventh and Daniels 21st. It's an important statistic but not the sole measure.

If that was the case OKC's Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be tied for the DPOY with a DTrg of 106.1.

To add even more context, OKC's team DTrg is No1 at 106.6 while the Hawks languish in 19th place with a DTrg of 115.3.

Players shoot an average of 46% against Mobley on the defense while Daniels is 44.7% but more often than not from range.

Daniels has won two games on the defensive side of the ball this season. The first was stripping De'Aaron Fox on a last second jumper and the second was picking Desmond Banes clean against the Memphis Grizzlies and dishing a three-quarter court pass for an assisted lay-up for a Hawks win at the buzzer.

Daniels is leading the NBA in deflections per game at 6.1, deflections per 36 minutes with 6.4 and total deflections with 357. The next closest in those key defensive indicators: Kelly Oubre Jr (4.2); Reed Sheppard (5.4); and Kelly Oubre Jr (242). See for yourself.

That's right, Daniels has 115 more deflections than any other player. Mobley is no where to be seen on any of these lists.

He is also second to Knicks wing Josh Hart (1.1) in loose balls recovered per game with 1.0 per game and 58 on the season. Hart has 64.

Mobley is FOURTH for contest shots per game with with 10.4, which is 3.4 behind Milwaukee centre Brook Lopez with 13.8. Mobley (581) has less shot contests than teammate Jarrett Allen (612) on the season.

Just one guard — Marcus Smart — has won the award since Gary 'The Glove' Payton won it back in 1995-96. Payton had 231 steals that season.

Smart, playing for Boston, won the DPOY in the 2021-22 season securing just 128 steals with an average 1.8 steals per game. He had five steals four times and one game with four ... that's it.

RELATED ARTICLE: Dyson Daniels and the Art of the Steal

Daniels has had five steals or more in 12 games ALREADY, including four games with six, two with seven and his career high eight against Joe Ingles' Minnesota Timberwolves on Christmas Eve 2024.

If Daniels maintains his average and plays the remaining 18 games for the Hawks he will finish on 232 steals, tied with one of the greatest wing defenders in history — six-time NBA champion and Chicago Bulls superstar Scottie Pippen in 1994-95.

The fact Daniels guards the best 1, 2 or 3 every night also adds weight to his candidacy: New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson; Boston's Jayson Tatum; Milwaukee's Dame Lillard; Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell; Detroit's Cade Cunningham; Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey; and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton.

"You gotta give him credit, he's a hell of a defender" Donovan Mitchell said after a late November 2024 contest against the Hawks.

Did I mention Mobley is averaging 1.6 blocks, which is tied for 11th. He's not even in the Top 10. Daniels has recorded a total of 38 blocks during the 2024-25 regular season, averaging 0.66 blocks per game. Mobley, a centre, is averaging just a block more per game than Daniels, a guard.

The only negative for Daniels is he's playing on a team with a sub .500 record while Mobley is an anchor on one of the NBA's best. Mobley's +/- through 56 games is +9.1 while Daniels is -2.4.

So, the only advantages Mobley has over Daniels is a team record, blocks per game and shot contests.

Daniels leads the league in steals, deflections per game, deflections per 36 minutes, total deflections, second in loose ball recovery per game and total.

He's played 59 games, to be eligible for Defensive Player of the Year he needs to play 65 games. By then he'll have close to 200 steals, the first 200+ steals season since Chris Paul in 2008-09.

Tell me why, again, Dyson Daniels isn't the red hot favourite to win the 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year because the numbers sure do.

About the Author

Peter Brown is the head coach of the Sydney Comets Women’s Youth League team in the Waratah Basketball League in NSW. He is also the assistant coach for the Comets NBL1 women’s team in the NBL East Conference. Peter is a 30-year journalist, starting as a sports reporter at the NT News in the early 1990s. He played junior basketball for the Northern Territory at national championships from U16 to U20 and for the Territory’s senior men’s team at numerous international tournaments. Peter has been a basketball fan since the early 80s, especially the NBA. Basketball is his passion — and his opinions his own. Email peter.brown@basketball.com.au with feedback. Any email feedback on articles sent to Peter can be published on basketball.com.au for others to read.