Atlanta Hawks News: Analyst Names Dyson Daniels One Of Last Week's Biggest Winners In The NBA

Daniels had great games for the Hawks, leading them to wins over the Celtics and the Wizards

Nov 15, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) shoots the ball against Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) during the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

We are only a month into the NBA season, but Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been one of the NBA's top acquisitions. When the Hawks traded Dejounte Murray to New Orleans for a package centered around Daniels, Larry Nance, and two first round picks, there was some debate as to what the top prize was in the trade. 14 games in, there has been no question that Daniels has been the top asset in the trade and he has emerged as one of the Hawks key pieces for the future. Daniels leads the league in steals and deflections and has been one of, if not the best perimeter defender in the NBA.

Daniels already had a strong reputation on defense, but his offense has taken a step forward as well, though he still has a ways to go. In the win over Boston last week, Daniels scored 28 points on 12-21 shooting and was the Hawks lead guard with Trae Young out for that game. In the win over the Wizards, Daniels scored 25 points on 10-14 shooting and also had six steals. He with his statline against the Wizards, he joined some elite company with his statline

Dyson Daniels, currently with 21 points and five steals, has tallied 15+ points and 5+ steals in four straight games, the longest such streak since Michael Jordan did so during the 1989-90 season (3/21/90-3/26/90, also four games).

— Hawks PR (@HawksPR) November 16, 2024

Daniels was named one of the week's biggest winners by CBS analyst Colin Ward-Henninger:

"Any time you join Michael Jordan on any list, you're winning at life. On Friday, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels became the first player since the GOAT to register at least 15 points and five steals in four straight games. Do you know how hard it is to register FIVE steals in a game? Only six players last season had five steals in two straight games, and this guy just did it four times in a row.

Not to be overlooked: Great Barrier Thief is one of our game's best nicknames (Daniels is Australian). Unfortunately the streak came to an end on Sunday when Daniels registered a measly two steals in a 114-109 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Slacker.

That inexcusable performance aside, he's having a tremendous season with averages of 15 points, four rebounds and three assists to go along with his league-best 3.8 steals per game (nearly DOUBLE the closest competitor). Just 21 years old, Daniels came over in the Dejounte Murray trade and is looking like a key piece of Atlanta's future."

The Hawks are still figuring everything else out on defense, but Daniels has raised the intensity levels of the team in a big way and is starting to get attention for how he is playing. After the game against the Wizards last Friday, Hawks star point Trae Young had a lot of praise for Daniels, something that has become a regular occurrence after the Hawks:

"Yeah I mean I see first-team defense I mean as many years as he wants to, as many years as he's playing, and yeah I mean you're going to see what he's able to do now that he has the opportunity to play a lot. I mean, offensively, it's not forced on him. He doesn't have to force anything. He just allows the game to come to him and that's what makes it easier for everybody. I mean, I can shoot not really good at all and he can still go out here and play really well just because he's letting the game come to him and just playing off each other, off us, offensively and defensively, we're just playing on him. So I mean, that's what we love from him."

Daniels is going to be counted on in a big way tonight with the Hawks facing the Kings in Sacramento. Kings guard De'Aaron Fox has scored 60 and 49 points in his last two games and without DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk tonight, he might have to have a big game tonight.

Additional Links:

Hawks vs Kings Game Preview, Injury Report, Betting Odds, Projected Starting Lineups For Tonight's Game

Instant Takeaways From Atlanta's 114-110 Loss to Portland

Atlanta Hawks Can't Overcome 27 Turnovers and Poor Third Quarter in 114-110 Loss to Portland