Dyson Daniels has one of the NBA’s best nicknames, was nearly the league’s top defender and can now say he is the NBA’s Most Improved Player for the 2024-25 season.
Daniels, who was born in Australia and is known as the “Great Barrier Thief,” exploded onto the scene for the Atlanta Hawks after two forgettable years in New Orleans. He beat out the LA Clippers’ Ivica Zubac and Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham for the NBA Most Improved Player honors on Wednesday, decided by a voting panel of 100 media members. Daniels earned 44 first-place votes to 23 for Zubac, who was second.
The announcement was made on TNT before Game 5 of the first-round playoff series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets.
The 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player is… Dyson Daniels!#NBAAwards | #KiaMIP | @Kia pic.twitter.com/GSaRR2lDfy
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
“With this being my third year in the league and my first two being in New Orleans, I felt like I kind of went in there and wasn’t myself,” Daniels said on TNT from Australia, where it was 9 a.m. local time. “I feel like I kind of took a backseat role. So I came into this year, I really wanted to put my foot down and go out there and show what I could do. I think it’s just a small step in the right direction this year and I feel like I have a lot more in me.”
Daniels was acquired by Atlanta in the trade for Dejounte Murray last summer and averaged 3.0 steals and 5.8 deflections per game — easily the most in the NBA in both categories — and his 229 total steals were the most since Gary Payton’s 231 steals in 1996, when Payton was named top defensive player. Daniels, 22, was runner-up to Cleveland’s Evan Mobley for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Before this season, Daniels made 27 starts and never averaged more than 5.8 points or 1.4 steals per game. With the Hawks, the 6-foot-7 wing started all 76 of his games and averaged 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds to go with those gaudy steals and deflections numbers. He was the fifth player since 1973-74 to average at least 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals.
By comparison, the next closest player to Daniels in steals was Denver star Nikola Jokić and Oklahoma City’s Cason Wallace at 1.8 steals per game, and Jokić was also second behind Daniels with 3.7 deflections per game. The Hawks’ defense was still poorly rated compared to the rest of the league (18th), but Daniels’ presence gave opponents fits on the perimeter and with trying to get the ball into the post. He gave Trae Young, who has a reputation as a poor defender, more cover than he had ever previously seen on defense.
Zubac’s ninth season was easily his best. The Clippers center enjoyed career highs in scoring (16.8) and rebounds (12.6) and led the league in total rebounds. He peeled off 15 consecutive double-doubles during the regular season, the longest streak in the league this season, and the Clippers outscored opponents by 514 points with Zubac on the court.
Not only was the regular season easily the best of Cunningham’s career, but he saw substantial increases in scoring (26.1 points per game), rebounding (6.1 rpg), assists (9.1 apg — fourth-highest average in the NBA) and field-goal percentage (46.9 percent) over last season. He was just the seventh player in league history to average at least 25 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and the Pistons became the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from one year to the next in an 82-game season.
But voters also knew Cunningham is already on a maximum contract extension. Players on those don’t typically end up as the “most improved” player in the league. Daniels, on the other hand, sees a scenario where he wins the award again.
“I really believe I could win this award twice because I know I have so much more left in me to show in this league,” Daniels said. “For me it’s going to be about taking that next step next year, setting new goals. I want to be an All-Star in this league, I want to be a championship player.”
The NBA will unveil its MVP and Coach of the Year in the near future. Individual award winners thus far include:
Rookie: Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
Sixth Man: Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
Defensive Player: Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
Clutch Player: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
(Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)