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Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been named the recipient of the George Mikan Trophy as the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player, the league announced on Wednesday night.
As a result of receiving more votes than Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac and Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, Daniels become only the second player in Hawks history to be named the league's Most Improved Player. He joins Alan Henderson (1998-98) as the only other winner of the award in team history.
Daniels, 22, had a breakthrough season with the Hawks, averaging career highs in points (14.1), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.4), and steals (3.0). The Hawks guard also led the league in steals per game and total steals (229) this season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the next closest player with 131 total steals.
Only 30 players in NBA history have ever recorded 220 or more steals in a single season, and Daniels is now one of them. He is the youngest player in league history (22) to record 200 or more steals in a season.
After being traded from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Hawks in the offseason deal that sent Dejounte Murray to the Pels, Daniels made a name for himself early on in Atlanta with his defensive instincts.
While he always had the potential to be a two-way threat at either guard position, Daniels was never given a chance to prove his worth in New Orleans. With the Hawks having a clear need for another next to Trae Young, the former eighth-overall pick instantly became a fan favorite in Atlanta due to his length and ability to push the ball in transition off turnovers.
As a result, he was nicknamed The Great Barrier Thief. Daniels was also in the running for the league's Defensive Player of the Year award, which Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley won. The Hawks guard finished second in the voting behind Mobley, receiving 25 of 100 first-place votes for Defensive Player of the Year.
Although a case could be made for several players around the league to win the 2024-25 Most Improved Player award, Daniels stuck out in this race because he went from being a player on the end of New Orleans' bench to starting for the Hawks and becoming one of the best defensive players in the league.
“I think if you just study not only the defense but the way he’s driving the ball, the way he’s shooting the ball,” Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said of Daniels this season. “Sometimes, you watch him, and he’s playing with the level of confidence that has developed over the course of the season. Usually, with those things, it’s a lot of players that are deserving, and I certainly feel like he’s one of them.”
Daniels received 44 of the 100 first-place votes for Most Improved Player. Zubac finished second with 23 first-place votes, followed by Cunningham in third with 15 first-place votes.
