EXCITING young talent Dash Daniels put together a statement performance in his second official outing in the National Basketball League, chiming in for a productive showing off the bench as Melbourne United thumped the New Zealand Breakers.

Sunday’s clash at John Cain Arena marked Melbourne’s second outing of the first round of the 2025/26 season, having defeated the Tasmania JackJumpers in the season opener on Thursday in a seriously impressive road performance from United.

In that win, Daniels was solid without lighting the world on fire, still finding his feet at NBL level in his home and away fixture debut with the team. He filled his lane and competed strongly defensively, finishing with two points in just under nine minutes of court time.

However, the highly touted NBA Draft prospect arrived against the Breakers on Sunday, showing why he may be a more rounded offensive prospect than his older brother Dyson was at this point in his career, playing a key role as United claimed a huge win.

Melbourne United (114) def. New Zealand Breakers (82)

Dash Daniels – 14 points, five rebounds, one assist, two steals

Given more court time given how much of the match Melbourne spent in control of the contest, Daniels was able to showcase his ability on both ends of the floor, making the most of his 20 minutes of action and proving one of the biggest positives in a hefty win.

The young gun was injected into the game a few minutes into the first quarter, and immediately looked lively, chasing down a miss from a teammate to get his hands on a tip-in attempt, and although it missed, it was still an exciting start to the match from Daniels. He nailed his first and only assist of the match by finding Milton Doyle open on the perimeter as United continued their dominance on the offensive end.

Daniels hit the scoreboard himself as he showed aggression in transition, cutting towards the basket on a fast break and finishing at the rim for his first basket of the match, before showing the same aggression in the open court on the very next possession after Shea Ili forced a steal. It was two quick scores at the cup from the Next Star before heading to the bench having made an early impact in the match.

He returned to the fold in the second frame, and maintained his aggressive mindset with ball in hand, whether it was firing off long-range attempts, nailing floating shots from the paint or drawing contact and finishing at the charity stripe. Although he was not quite as productive as the first term, Daniels certainly looked comfortable and was given plenty of court time heading into the main change.

The youngster only played a few minutes in the third quarter, but was still able to show his offensive ability with a nice turnaround hook shot over an opponent, demonstrating footwork, timing and touch around the basket in a crafty basket from such a young player. He spent the remainder of the third frame on the bench with United fully in control of proceedings.

Daniels played out the final seven minutes of the match, and looked electric at times as Melbourne put the foot down to cement the blowout win. In a positive sign for his individual game, the potential top-10 pick nailed a three-pointer late in the frame to show the capability to stretch the floor, before capping off the match with a steal in the dying seconds of the contest.

He finished the match with 14 points on 6/10 shooting from the field while pulling down five rebounds to go with his assist and pair of steals in a strong showing from the youngster. If he can continue to build on this outing, it will bode extremely well for his NBA Draft chances in June, where he is already looming as a lottery selection.