Stolen Spotlight: Daniels's Defensive Dominance

The rookie guard was relieved to break free from the "curse" of his former team when he was dealt from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Atlanta Hawks. He is now the Most Improved Player in the NBA.

To earn the George Mikan Trophy for the NBA player who showed the most development, Daniels defeated other candidates Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers and Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons. With the Hawks, the third-year guard's stats significantly improved, including both his percentages and totals.

He increased his assists from 2.7 to 4.4, his steals from 1.4 to a league-high three per game, his rebounding from 3.9 to 5.9, and his scoring from 5.8 points to 14.1. He was the first qualified player to average three steals once more since Alvin Robertson in 1990–91, in addition to leading the NBA in thefts.

Given how disruptive his defense has been and how far ahead of the pack he is, Daniels had a case to win Defensive Player of the Year this season as well. With 131 thefts, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came in second. Daniels finished with 229, over 100 more than that.

The situation with deflections is identical. Daniels has 443 deflections, the most in the NBA. With 272 deflections, Daniels had sixty-three perce more than his nearest rival, Keon Ellis, who came in second.

Daniels shot over 50% from the field, increased his three-point shooting percentage from 31% to 34%, and made 100 more three-pointers, but the defense alone was a huge improvement.

Daniels was not given any opportunities in New Orleans after being chosen by the Pelicans with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He appears to be a key component of their future, along with Jalen Johnson and first overall choice Zaccharie Risacher, if given the opportunity to succeed in Atlanta. Additionally, Daniels' growth is probably not going to stop this season, given he only turned 22 in March.