Dyson Daniels has capped off a remarkable season, officially being named to his debut All-Defensive team.
The Australian enjoyed a breakout campaign this season, after being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Atlanta Hawks during the off-season.
He was rewarded for his efforts first with the 2024/25 Most Improved Player award, and has now been rewarded for his efforts on the defensive end.
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Dyson Daniels named to first-ever All-Defensive Team
The NBA has officially announced their All-Defensive teams, with Aussie guard Dyson Daniels named to the First Team All-Defence.
The 2024-25 Kia NBA All-Defensive First Team!
— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2025
🔐 Dyson Daniels
🔐 Luguentz Dort
🔐 Draymond Green
🔐 Evan Mobley
🔐 Amen Thompson#NBAAwards | @Kia pic.twitter.com/dPRpGCOZNB
He led the league in steals this season - three per game during the season - as well as claiming the deflections title, as well as an impressive increase in offensive production.
"I took steps in the right direction this year and I think it's just setting me up for the rest of my career and just being able to make jumps every year is the goal now," Daniels said of his standout year.
"Hopefully one day be an All-Star, that would be great, but to have the year I had this year and get the confidence back that I was lacking in my first two years is what I needed and it's only going to get better from here.
"I would say it's more confidence than anything. I had a bigger role here [than in New Orleans] playing alongside Trae [Young], he made my life easy, so everything kind of fell in place and I was able to go out there and make plays."
Daniels was joined on the First Team by DPOY winner Evan Mobley, as well as Draymond Green, Lu Dort, and Amen Thompson.
Daniels continues Aussie defensive legacy
In claiming his spot on the 2025 All-Defensive First Team, Dyson Daniels also continued a legacy of elite Aussie defenders.
The Atlanta Hawk became the third Australian to be named to an All-Defensive team, after Andrew Bogut made the second team in 2015, followed by Ben Simmons, named to the first team in 2020 and 2021.
DYSON DANIELS DEFENSE MIXTAPE 📼 pic.twitter.com/QpZh6NbCD5
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 22, 2025
Daniels also finished runner-up in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, behind Cleveland's Evan Mobley, a feat also achieved by Simmons when he lost to Utah's Rudy Gobert in 2021.
"Dyson's just been killing. He's been all over it, Defensive Player of the Year for me," Simmons said of his countryman earlier this season.
"It's hard not to give it to him. I think he's just everywhere. He has great hands, and he's really guarding everybody."
Future bright for Boomers star
More impressive than the All-Defensive team nod, the steals title, or the elite level of play, is the fact that Daniels is just getting started.
Daniels, 22, became the second-youngest guard to ever be named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team, trailing only Kobe Bryant in 2002, and just the third-youngest player full stop, behind Bryant and Victor Wembanyama in 2024.
It was this promising form that also saw him claim this season's Most Improved Player award, with the move from New Orleans to Atlanta helping to truly unlock the former eighth-overall pick.