When it’s time to step away and get his mind back to the right place, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels heads to the golf course.
That’s one of the reasons the 21-year-old made sure to find his space just weeks after moving to Atlanta, landing on the Bobby Jones Golf Course. The Hawks acquired Daniels at the end of June when they dealt Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans. So, when he landed in his new home, one of his top priorities was finding a golf course.
“I think I feel like in New Orleans, I was kind of bottled up a little bit, and it was hard to try to find myself and find whatever I wanted to do,” Daniels told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I was so focused on basketball, making sure I’m there every time, I’m giving 100% that I was, I was kind of tense and not relaxed. It was always stressful. So just to be able to get out of there, have a new beginning in Atlanta, new team. I love the coaching staff. Love everyone here. Great City, great food, great people here. So, I’ve really enjoyed the move so far.”
Of course, finding a passion in golf has taken a little bit of a journey. Daniels went to his first golf course when he was around 14 or 15 years old, but he spent much of that time riding the golf carts with friends rather than teeing off. When the Pelicans drafted him in 2021 and he moved to New Orleans, he began to look at it a little differently.
During the offseason following his first season in the NBA, a trip to the golf course with some friends sparked a new passion.
“I would say my rookie season in the offseason is, like, I was never good at golf,” Daniels said. “I never knew what I was doing. But then me and my friends just went out and played golf, and we started betting ... each other, like, who’s gonna win and stuff, and I got a little competitive. So, I started turning to, like a weekly thing. So then we’d go once a week, and then my friends started loving it. I started loving it. So, I started to pick it up as a passion. ... So I’d say it’s two years since I’ve been doing it, but one year since I’ve really been taking it seriously.”
He’s added golf lessons to help improve his swing, his posture and form after coming back from the day on the course with a sore back and muscles. Instead of using rental clubs or borrowing a set from his friends, he invested in some that are fitted specifically to his height and length.
Since he’s taken the lessons, Daniels feels like he’s been able to get the technique down a little better. He’s learned that the swing comes more from the hips and less from the back. He’s made sure to keep his eye on the ball on the swing through.
He hasn’t noticed a ton of transferable skills from golf to basketball, but he can see a couple of them.
“I mean, I think there’s different stances in golf that you can take, which is only like different defensive stances,” he said. “I wouldn’t say the hip movement is very similar, but the follow-through, you could say, because you want to follow through in golf, you want to follow through to your target. Basketball you want to follow through with your arms. That could be something similar, for sure. I mean, obviously, basketball is a lot more movement, golf is a lot more skills, but there’s definitely some things to translate over.”
One thing that could make a positive impact on his game is the camaraderie that golf can foster. Through the social aspect of a leisurely day on the course, Daniels sees a chance to cultivate the growing bond with his new teammates. He hasn’t had a chance to get them out on the green, yet.
“I’ve talked to Garrison (Mathews),” Daniels said. “I hear he golfs a little bit. So, I’m gonna try to get Larry (Nance Jr.) out on the course, but I’m gonna turn some of these boys into golfers. If we are on some long road trips, I’m going to bring my clubs with me, and so if we get a day off or something, I’ll go to a course.”
While all of the skills and tips he’s learned on the golf course may not totally transfer over, Daniels still has found a new spark in the Peach State.
Since landing in Atlanta, Daniels has started in all four of the Hawks’ exhibition games, when he averaged 10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He’s shot well, knocking down 38.1% of his 5.3 3-point attempts per game.
Nance, Daniels’ former Pelicans teammate who the Hawks acquired in the same deal, already has noticed Daniels soaking up the fresh start.
“He’s always had good skill and touch, but to see him more confident in his ability to do so is something that I was encouraging him to do last year in New Orleans,” Nance said Oct. 12 after practice. “But now that, now that we’re here in Atlanta, he’s really gotten the green light to fulfill some of that offensive potential.”
But Daniels is glad that the exhibition season now is on the front nines, the new Hawks guard can’t wait for what’s to come Wednesday night against the Nets in the season opener.
“I’m ready for the season, now,” Daniels said. “I hate the build-up. I hate preseason. I hate all that stuff. I just like playing games. So I’m ready to step foot on the floor and have an impact, be out there picking up full-court defense, playing off Trae (Young), knocking down shots, getting to the rim, just being that, kind of that all guy. Trae’s gonna get a lot of attention. So it’s about running the ball, making the right reads, right decisions coming up, slipping out screens, setting good screens. But I’m just looking forward to playing a basketball game, so it’s gonna be fun.”
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