DYSON Daniels, or “The Great Barrier Thief” as he has been dubbed this season, has put together a career best year for the Atlanta Hawks as the 21-year-old continues to improve and become an integral part of the Hawks future core. 

The six-foot-seven guard out of the G-League Ignite team came into the league after being selected with the eighth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft as an elite ‘three and D’ prospect. Not many would have projected the astronomically good season he would have in year three, as the boy from Bendigo has taken his defensive averages to new levels, with three steals per game and 0.7 blocks per game.

But his impact on the defensive side of the floor extends far past the basic counting stats, and though he is not currently the betting favourite, let’s make the case for Dyson to be named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Most of the betting markets favour Cleveland’s Evan Mobley or Memphis’s Jaren Jackson Jr, both of whom have been terrific this season and have their teams as the first seed in the East and fourth seed in the West, respectively. Atlanta currently sits eighth in the weaker eastern Conference, and 20^th in the league for defensive rating, with a record of 29-34.

Whilst this isn’t a great look, he is certainly the main focal point for the Hawks defensively, on a team led by a small guard, and Atlanta were ranked 27^th last season for defensive rating, so the improvement is in fact noticeable this year. 

The other factor working against Daniels is that the award is typically given to big men, as they often anchor teams’ defences and are credited with blocking shots at the rim. Victor Wembanyama of course, averaging 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals per contest, was a shoe in for the award before his season was ended prematurely due to a blood clot in his shoulder. The Australian has become one of the best point-of-attack defenders in the world, particularly at the guard position. However, over the last 30 years, only Marcus Smart in 2021-2022 and Gary Payton in 1995-1996 have won the award. 

In saying all that, no player has averaged more than three steals per game, which Daniels is, since 1990. That’s 35 years since someone has posted statistical dominance on the defensive end like this. Should steals not be worth as much, if not more than blocks? If he continues to average over three steals per match, Daniels will become just the eleventh player in the history of the NBA to do so.

To really put in perspective the historical season Daniels is having, let’s compare his numbers to some others. His three steals per game lead the league, with just Dejounte Murray and Luka Doncic (who have each combined to play just five more games than Daniels this season) averaging two steals or more per game. His 0.7 blocks per game is top 10 in the NBA among guards.

He is also averaging six deflections per game, whilst only four other players in the league average more than four, and none more than 4.5 per contest. Daniels is disrupting everything on the defensive side of the ball and turning plenty of these deflections into extra possessions for Atlanta. He has 349 deflections, 112 more than the second rated player in the statistic. These are outrageous and all-time great defensive numbers, but let’s go deeper.

Among qualified players, Daniels is third in the competition for defensive loose balls recovered, and sixth in the league for total loose balls recovered. Last season, De’Aaron Fox and current MVP favourite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in steals with 150 in total.

Daniels this year had 149 steals at the All-Star break. Only two players have ever entered the break with that many steals ever – Michael Jordan and Alvin Robertson. He also leads the league in clutch steals, having won Atlanta games by stripping opponents multiple times late in games.

He leads the league in steal percentage too. An incredible stat is that Daniels is averaging 65 per cent more steals than any other NBA player. If anyone were to average 65 per cent more points than the rest of the league, they’d be averaging 51 points per game. 

When the most steals in a game this season are listed, it reads as follows:

1. Dyson Daniels (8)
2. Dyson Daniels (8)
3. Dyson Daniels (7)
4. Dyson Daniels (7)
5. Dyson Daniels (6)
6. Dyson Daniels (6)
7. Dyson Daniels (6)
8. Dyson Daniels (6)

This Week he became the eighth youngest player in history to reach 300 career steals, 172 of which have come this season alone. Earlier this season, he became the second player in NBA history to record six or more steals in four consecutive games. Then most important part of Daniels defensive stats, is that they come in clutch moments, helping Atlanta win games.

His 14 clutch stocks (steals and blocks) lead the league and have been memorable. Remarkably, with all the reaching, poking, deflecting and stealing he is doing, Daniels only averages 2.5 fouls per game too, which is vital on the defensive side of the basketball.

Overall, Daniels’ case for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award might be moot based on the position he plays and the lack of team success, but the Australian star is having one of the best defensive seasons in NBA history, and should be seen as a contender.