From the moment he arrived as part of the trade return for Dejounte Murray, Dyson Daniels has been a game-changer for the Atlanta Hawks. Daniels, who recently turned 22 years old, put together a tremendous age-21 season, appearing in 76 games, anchoring Atlanta's defense, and earning finalist nods for two major individual awards.
The summer of 2025 will be interesting for Daniels on two fronts. For one, he is eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension that could offer him life-changing money after his breakout 2024-25 performance. On the other, Daniels will certainly be "in the lab" working on ways to continue his upward trajectory, especially on the offensive end.
In this space, we'll highlight three areas of potential growth for Daniels in 2025-26 and beyond. Candidly, his defense may not be perfect, but it would be difficult to pinpoint much to nitpick about his performance on that end of the floor. As such, the focus is his offense, and here are three paths to improvement.
3-point shooting
The most frequently discussed trait of Daniels' game that could use further growth is his perimeter shooting, particularly from the 3-point arc. To be clear, Daniels already took a significant step forward in this area in 2024-25, getting up 235 attempts from 3-point distance and converting 34.0 percent of those shots. That is, at minimum, a workable figure for Daniels that will keep opposing defenses honest, but the Hawks almost certainly want more from Daniels in this area.
One of the bigger things about 3-point shooting is volume, as it is important for Daniels not to pass on good looks. That doesn't mean he will suddenly become a total marksman from deep, but Daniels can help to keep Atlanta's offense flowing by being aggressive from long distance. Then, of course, there is a pathway to increased accuracy that flows from sharp mechanics and more reps. Daniels has a reputation as a hard worker, and it is safe to assume he'll be getting up shots all summer.
Free throw shooting
3-point shooting and free throw shooting are correlated to some degree, even if the mechanics are not exactly the same. While much of the focus is on Daniels' ability (and willingness) to fire away from deep, his free throw issues are arguably a bigger problem.
In three NBA seasons, Daniels is 143-233 from the free throw line, coming in at a paltry 61.4 percent. Unlike his other efficiency metrics, that number did not improve in his third NBA season. Daniels did take more free throws (140) than he did in his first two seasons combined, but he scuffled to 59.3 percent accuracy. That is an ugly figure, particularly for a guard, and it could become a more glaring issue if Daniels continues to improve his free throw drawing skills by attacking the rim with force.
On the bright side, this should be an area in which growth is achievable. At the same time, it is one that really needs to improve for Daniels to reach his offensive ceiling.
Ball-handling and turnover avoidance
The shooting questions with Daniels are probably in their own class in terms of overall importance, but Daniels does have other potential avenues for growth on offense. One is that he is almost exclusively a two-foot finisher near the rim, and increased craft with the ability to jump off one foot could be useful for Daniels. Beyond that, Daniels took several turns as Atlanta's de facto point guard with Trae Young off the court this season, and while he does have a background in operating at the position, Daniels' handle could use improvement at the highest levels.
It is a clear luxury for Atlanta that Daniels, given all his defensive and rebounding strengths, can even function at the point guard spot. With that said, there were times in 2024-25 in which it was clear he wasn't terribly comfortable as a ball-handler against high-level pressure from the opposition.
Daniels did average more than four assists per game, which is quite solid for a non-lead initiator, but he also turned in ten games with at least four turnovers, including five games with at least five giveaways. That is far from disastrous, but there were moments in which it became problematic. Some of that comes with more reps and polish as an offensive creator, but in searching for another area to highlight, it is one that Daniels and the Hawks can come together to clean up next season.