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04/30 18:22 CDT Atlanta's Dyson Daniels wins the NBA's most improved player
award
Atlanta's Dyson Daniels wins the NBA's most improved player award
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
Dyson Daniels, who led the NBA in steals while making dramatic improvements in
scoring, rebounds and assists for Atlanta, was named the league's most improved
player Wednesday.
Daniels beat out fellow finalists Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers and
Cade Cunningham of Detroit.
The 22-year-old Daniels emerged as a productive starter at shooting guard for
the Hawks after arriving in Atlanta in the trade that sent high-scoring guard
Dejounte Murray to New Orleans on July 6.
Before the trade, Daniels was best known for his defensive play. Injuries and
other trades helped clear the way for the 6-foot-7 Daniels to flourish as a
scoring complement to Trae Young while providing impressive all-around
production.
Daniels now is entrenched as an important foundation player for the Hawks,
joining Young, forward Jalen Johnson and 2024 No. 1 overall NBA draft pick
Zaccharie Risacher, who was the runner-up in Tuesday's rookie of the year award
won by San Antonio's Stephon Castle.
Daniels led the NBA with 229 steals, the most since Seattle's Gary Payton had
231 in the 1995-96 season. He finished as the runner-up to Cleveland's Evan
Mobley in the voting for NBA defensive player of the year.
Daniels' nickname --- Great Barrier Thief --- is a nod to his roots in
Australia and defensive prowess.
Daniels' impressive gains as a scorer, defender, rebounder and play-maker
helped him claim the top spot in the voting for most improved player. Thanks to
his role as a starter beside Young in Atlanta's backcourt, Daniels improved his
scoring from 5.8 points per game with New Orleans in 2023-24 to 14.1, his
rebounds from 3.9 to 5.9, his steals from 1.4 to 3.0 and his assists from 2.7
to 4.4.
Daniels became only the fifth player since 1973-74 to average at least 14.0
points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals, joining Magic Johnson,
Michael Jordan, Michael Ray Richardson and Alvin Robertson.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder lobbied for Daniels to be recognized as the league's
top defensive player but also took note of the young guard's overall gains.
"I think his ability to be as effective as he is on the ball, you see that and
feel that," Snyder said. "I think also his ability to drive the ball. So to me,
those two things are his aggressiveness. And in order to be aggressive, you
have to be fearless. So I think maybe the biggest thing that I wanted to try to
communicate to Dyson to the extent we can instill something in someone is don't
be afraid to make a mistake."
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers praised Daniels' impact as more than a defensive
specialist before a late-season game in Atlanta.
"I think it's so refreshing to see a young guy come to the league with that
makeup," Rivers said of Daniels. "Oh, he wants to score. He's learning. He's
working on his game. But he's making an impact now. His size is what
differentiates him from everyone else, though. He's big, like big, tall,
strong, long arms. And he's tough."
The Hawks received Daniels, forward-center Larry Nance Jr., center Cody Zeller,
a 2025 first-round pick and a conditional 2027 first-rounder in the deal for
Murray.
Daniels' immediate impact and the draft picks made the deal a success for
Atlanta. The trade wasn't enough to save general manager Landry Fields, who was
fired on April 21. The Hawks finished 40-42 and were 0-2 in the play-in
tournament to miss the playoffs.
The most improved player award, like several other NBA honors, was voted on by
a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league and cast
ballots shortly after the end of the regular season.
The other awards that were part of that voting process and have already had
their results unveiled: San Antonio's Stephon Castle winning rookie of the
year, Cleveland's Evan Mobley winning defensive player of the year, New York's
Jalen Brunson winning clutch player of the year and Boston's Payton Pritchard
winning sixth man of the year.
Other awards announced by the league since the end of the regular season:
Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award
and Warriors teammate Draymond Green won the hustle award.
Awards that will be announced later in the playoffs include MVP (either
Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver's Nikola Jokic or Milwaukee's
Giannis Antetokounmpo), coach of the year (either Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff,
Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson or Houston's Ime Udoka), plus the All-NBA,
All-Rookie and All-Defensive teams.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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