His career-best stats have placed him in the company of NBA greats like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Australian Guard Dyson Daniels of Hawks Wins NBA’s Most Improved Player Award
New York (AFP) – Dyson Daniels, a 22-year-old Australian guard for the Atlanta Hawks, has been named the NBA’s Most Improved Player for 2025, the league announced on Wednesday. Daniels led the league in steals this season and delivered career-high stats that placed him alongside NBA icons like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.
Daniels is only the second player in Hawks history to receive the honor, following Alan Henderson in 1998. He earned 44 first-place votes from a global panel of sports media, with Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers finishing second and Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham third.
Known as “The Great Barrier Thief” for his defensive prowess, Daniels recorded an NBA-leading 229 steals this season — the highest total since Gary Payton’s 1995-96 campaign — and was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year.
This season, the 22-year-old posted averages of 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists over 33.8 minutes per game. He also led the NBA with 3.0 steals per game, well ahead of Nikola Jokic, who ranked second with 1.8. Daniels started all 76 games he appeared in and set career highs in both field goal percentage (49.3%) and three-point shooting (34.0%).
While Cade Cunningham and Ivica Zubac also had strong seasons, Daniels’s leap in performance stood out as the most significant.
