Who is the Most Underrated Player On the Atlanta Hawks Entering the 2024-2025 Season?

Which Hawks player is not getting enough attention ahead of the 2024-2025 Season?

Apr 16, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) dribbles against New Orleans Pelicans guard Dyson Daniels (11) during the second half of a play-in game of the 2024 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA season is less than two months away from getting underway, but now is the time to see how each team stacks up against the other and how the conference races might play out. The offseason is at a standstill and no major moves are likely to be made between now and the start of the next season so the rosters that each team has is likely what they are going into the season with.

One of the most interesting teams to talk about in terms of where they might end up is the Atlanta Hawks. This offseason, Atlanta made the decision to move on from Dejounte Murray and put more pieces around Trae Young. They acquired Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance in the Murray deal and they drafted French forward Zaccharie Risacher with the No. 1 pick. They have tried to improve their defense and size this offseason and you could argue they have done that. Will that result in more wins and a return trip to the NBA Play-In Tournament or the playoffs? We will have to wait and see.

Going into last year, the Hawks had one of the most underrated players in the NBA in Jalen Johnson and he had a huge breakout season that could have ended with him winning the NBA's Most Improved Player Award if he was able to stay healthy. Johnson was an easy pick for most underrated player going into last year, but who is it this year?

I think you could actually make the case that it is still Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu should get some consideration, but I am going in another direction. The Hawks acquired Dyson Daniels from New Orleans and he has a chance to be one of the most impactful additions across the NBA. If the Hawks are going to surprise and contend for a top six spot in the Eastern Conference, then Daniels is going to have to emerge as an impact two-way starter for the Hawks.

The Hawks needed to upgrade its defense and get bigger everywhere and Daniels does both of those things. He is already one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and is a legitimate All-Defensive Team Candidate. The questions for Daniels are on the offensive end. Can he make open three-point shots and be a secondary playmaker when playing with Young? Obviously, Trae Young is going to handle the ball most possessions, but one of the reasons they traded for Dejounte Murray at the time was how he got bottled up vs the Miami Heat in the 2022 playoffs. If teams are able to pressure Young and force the ball out of his hand, can Daniels help the offense out? If he can, the Hawks ceiling is raised.

A 2024 Panini Rising Star, Daniels recorded 1.4 steals per game during the 2023-24 campaign, the 10th-most in the NBA, and owned a .341 steal percentage last season, ranking fifth in the league (min. 50 GP). He recorded a career-high six steals at Utah on Nov. 25, becoming the only second-year player to swipe at least six steals in a single game this past season and one of only two first-or-second year players to do so, joining Victor Wembanyama. He recorded all six steals in the first half, tied for the most steals in a single half in the NBA this past season and tied for the second-most steals in a single half in New Orleans history.

Selected eighth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Pelicans, the 6-7 guard owns career averages of 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 20.0 minutes in 120 games (27 starts). Prior to the Pelicans, he spent the 2021-22 season with the NBA G League Ignite, where he was named to the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars roster.

Daniels has been one of the underdiscussed additions throughout the NBA this offseason, but he has a chance to make a real difference for Atlanta. That is why I think he is the most underrated player on the Hawks this season.