How Dyson Daniels, Hawks’ guard from Down Under, turned his game upside down

ATLANTA — There’s a scene in Game 1 of the Atlanta Hawks-New York Knicks sequence that illustrates loads of what’s occurred with Dyson Daniels this season: each what makes his yr barely disappointing and what makes it exceptional.

Midway by means of the third quarter, he acquired a move close to the precise baseline in a spot the place a participant may usually try a nook 3. Daniels, nevertheless, didn’t even take a look at the rim.

Instead, he whirred instantly right into a handoff to the close by CJ McCollum, utilizing himself as a display, and let McCollum shoot the three as a substitute. McCollum splashed it, considered one of 11 Daniels assists that game — 4 of which got here on “handoff” performs just like this one, when Daniels was initially open and usually may need shot it himself. Here’s one other instance from earlier within the game involving Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Daniels, alas, is just not so threatening when he takes the shot himself. He made solely 22 of his 117 3-point makes an attempt this season, ending with a tragic 18.8 p.c. In doing so, he turned the primary participant in NBA historical past to take at the very least 115 3-point makes an attempt and nonetheless end beneath the Mendoza Line. The earlier low was Tony Wroten’s 21.3 p.c for the Process Philadelphia 76ers in 2013-14.

This all got here as a little bit of a shock. While Daniels has by no means been confused with prime Steph Curry, a yr earlier, he shot 34.0 p.c from 3 on a not-inconsequential 3.1 makes an attempt per game. There was no actual purpose to count on him to instantly turn into the worst-shooting guard within the league at age 22.

But he did. And as he slumped, opponents’ methods advanced. They began giving Daniels acres of house when he caught the ball on the 3-point line, all however daring him to shoot. They began placing their middle on Daniels and a ahead on the Hawks’ 6-foot-8 middle Onyeka Okongwu. And in response, the Hawks had been basically compelled to reverse their complete offense.

You may suppose this is able to have been a tragic flip of occasions that sidelined Daniels’ promising profession, particularly in our present period, the place ground spacing is paramount.

Nothing could possibly be additional from the reality. Faced with skilled extinction as a result of his 3-pointer deserted him, Daniels as a substitute has completely reinvented his game in lower than one season. He is now successfully the middle on offense, and Okongwu is a ahead, with Okongwu normally spacing to the nook or elbow to permit a pick-and-roll involving Daniels and a ballhandler house to prepare dinner.

“Obviously, I haven’t shot the ball how I wanted, so that’s why I’m getting saved that way,” Daniels mentioned just lately. “But I have to find other ways to be effective.

“It’s like I’m the five now. Especially when the five is on me, I play the same role that the five does in a lot of the screening actions, up top and in handoffs and stuff like that.”

The influence numbers would inform you he is the identical man. Daniels’ across-the-board stats (apart from 3-point share) are practically similar to his Most Improved Player-winning numbers from 2024-25; a 15.5 PER this season in comparison with 15.6, a 54.2 p.c true taking pictures in comparison with 54.5 and a 1.3 BPM in comparison with 1.5.

It’s new for Daniels, who principally performed level guard in his youth, however he additionally places his pace on show towards a lot slower bigs when he catches on the transfer.

“I like it, it’s fun,” he mentioned. “I’ve rolled in all the actions.”

And sure, when he catches the ball large open on the 3-point line, and there is not a screening alternative close by, there are some instances when he simply lets it fly anyway.

Here’s a scene from Game 3 towards the Knicks the place Daniels is spaced to the nook, and his defender, OG Anunoby, sells out to cease Jalen Johnson earlier than displaying solely the mildest of concern that Daniels is taking pictures a 3 from the nook. (Alas, he ought to have been a bit extra involved about Okongwu trucking down the lane for a tip dunk.)

If you are curious, the Hawks are OK with Daniels letting it fly, one thing that coach Quin Snyder confirmed once I requested him about it straight in March. They need Daniels to take the shot when he is open and shoot it with confidence.

But Daniels has additionally seen that the sagging bigs who’re “guarding” him on the 3-point line are in no place to assist on a display, so he is realized the worth of quick-hitting handoffs to raised shooters if he can discover one close by.

“That’s just how I found the way to be effective, with a cross-match especially,” Daniels mentioned. “A lot of teams, with their [five] guarding me far off… I see cracks, and then, I get my teammates open.”

Golden State Warriors followers may acknowledge this specific piece of artistry. It’s one thing Draymond Green has completed a thousand instances over with Curry, particularly when opponents dare Green to shoot.

Slowly however certainly, it is turning into a part of Daniels’ arsenal as nicely — particularly because the Hawks imported two motion shooters in McCollum and Alexander-Walker over the past yr.

“I have watched Draymond a lot, enough to see how he does it,” Daniels mentioned. “I should probably watch him more to see how he uses all the little tricks.”

As for Okongwu, his reinvention has arguably been simply as essential. This is a participant who had not made a single 3-pointer in his first two professional seasons; in his sixth season, nevertheless, he tried extra 3s than within the first 5 years mixed, a whopping 5.2 per game.

To offer you some thought of ​​how typically he launched, Okongwu took extra 3s this common season than Devin Booker, Quentin Grimes, Cade Cunningham or Victor Wembanyama. Only three facilities (Naz Reid, Bam Adebayo and Myles Turner) let it rip from past the arc extra typically.

It’s been a vital a part of the Hawks’ adjustment. Playing subsequent to a extra conventional, rim-running middle (comparable to former starter Clint Capela) would have left Daniels in a way more tenuous scenario.

“The method he shoots it, they actually must respect him, and he opens up the ground for different guys. So I believe it is actually higher for the fellows like myself, particularly like [with] CJ and Jalen, so I can get downhill, or I can preserve taking part in within the dunker and get straightforward dropoffs and lobs and offensive rebounds.”

But about these 3-pointers…

Hawks individuals will inform you that Daniels’ shot seems to be good on the observe courtroom, and for those who watched him in pregame warm-ups, you’d by no means guess he is taking pictures within the teenagers. Alas, his confidence hasn’t carried over into video games, a development exacerbated for a giant chunk of the season by his typically solely taking one an evening.

In the center of the season, particularly, a typical game sample would see him let one rip within the first half, then cease taking them the remainder of the game if he missed it. He has 22 separate video games this season the place he completed 0-for-1 from 3; After an 0-for-5 outing towards the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 19, Daniels was both 0-of-0 or 0-of-1 in 13 of the following 15 video games.

Encouragingly, he is been a bit extra prepared to launch within the second half of the season, together with 31 makes an attempt in his final 14 video games (common season and playoffs). He’s additionally been a bit extra correct of late, with a lukewarm stretch of 10-of-24 taking pictures within the closing dozen video games of the common season, permitting him to complete the season with extra makes than airballs. (Baby steps.)

There’s a consolation in Daniels taking pictures them extra, really; one particular person near the Hawks insisted to me that he’d look roughly nice if he took 5 a game and did not have to fret a lot about whether or not the primary one went in. A season earlier, he took at the very least 5 in a game on 18 events. This yr, it is occurred simply as soon as since Christmas.

“Obviously, I’m not happy with how I’ve shot it this year, and it’s something for the offseason,” Daniels mentioned. “But like I said, this game is a lot more than just shooting. [It’s] the defensive end. It’s about being a cutter. It’s about screening. It’s about rebounding, so I just found other ways to help us win games.”

Make no mistake: The Hawks will proceed their tutelage this summer season, with the assistance of an all-time marksman in assistant common supervisor Kyle Korver. Getting Daniels again to being at the very least a 1-in-3 proposition from the perimeter is a major goal for a franchise that dedicated $100 million to him over the following 4 seasons. And at simply 23, Daniels has loads of developmental runway in entrance of him.

In the meantime, Daniels has discovered sufficient different methods to influence the game. “The Great Barrier Thief” has 10 steals in 4 video games towards New York and has been the first defender because the Hawks have harassed Knicks star Jalen Brunson into 41.6 p.c taking pictures by means of Game 4.

It will not be superb, however the guard from Down Under has discovered a approach to flip his game upside down. And in doing so, he is turn into one of the vital attention-grabbing and rarest gamers within the league.