A thief.
A pickpocket.
A larcenist.
On the basketball court, Dyson Daniels is all that and more. That’s why they call him “The Great Barrier Thief.”
A Hawks guard and native of Australia, Daniels has made a name for himself early in his career as he has recorded steals in a historic fashion.
On Tuesday, the 21-year-old became the NBA’s first Defensive Player of the Month for the Eastern Conference for November. In 19 games during October and November, Daniels had 57 steals, 16 more than the next closest players (Tari Eason and Jalen Williams with 41).
“The way he does it is just something that I’ve never seen my whole career,” teammate and veteran Clint Capela said of Daniels’ defensive exploits.
Daniels also blocked 18 shots during the award period and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988 to record at least 57 steals and 18 blocks within the first 19 games of a season. His 75 stocks (steals and blocks) led the Eastern Conference and was second most in the NBA, trailing only Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.
From Nov. 8-15, he had six or more steals in four consecutive games, the second-longest such streak in the NBA since at least the 1973-74 season. It’s also the longest streak since former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Alvin Robertson in 1986 (six games).
Through his first 10 games of the season, Daniels had 36 total steals, which tied former Pacers guard Don Buse (1976) for the second most steals within a player’s first 10 games with a team, according to the Hawks. Daniels trails only Robertson (37, 1989, Milwaukee).
Daniels’ numbers have impressed this season, but how he has achieved them shows what an elite defender he is.
“He’s a unique player on the defensive end,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “A combination of his size, his length, but as much as anything, his feel, his ability to anticipate.”
His strong read of the game has allowed him to get into passing lanes in a way that doesn’t take him out of a play. When he picks off passes, his hands usually already are in the air in attempt to cut off the vision of the opposing player. He’s able to time the wave of his hands to poke the ball away and get out in transition.
But Daniels always has his eyes on the ball, ready to pick the pocket of an opponent when their back is turned.
“Yeah, I mean, I say this all time, but everyone is different in how you do it,” Daniels told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But one thing for me is I know where people have to bring the ball to get power to go up. So, a guy like Giannis (Antetokounmpo), for example, he got me a couple times (and) I missed it. But you have to bring the ball across your body to get your power. So usually, if someone gets past me, and there’s a big at the rim, and they try Euro step, they’re always going to bring the ball across their body to the left side. So, that’s when I can swipe it.
“Whereas coming down the lane, if I can absorb the first bump, that’s what I try to do a lot of the time, absorb the first bump, and then I can get my hand in there and dig it out because that’s when the ball is vulnerable on a bump as well.
“So it’s a little harder when people have you on their back and dribbling down, sometimes I can reach around and poke it out, but if they’re coming straight downhill and hit me in the chest, I’m able to absorb it and get a hand in there because I know the ball is going to be vulnerable. It’s not in a spot where they can keep it away from me. So there’s little things that I know an offensive player does where I can get the ball, and then there’s a lot of times like I’m just coming from behind people and just trying to make plays, as well.”
Early in the Hawks’ NBA Cup matchup against the Celtics on Nov. 12, Daniels trailed forward Jayson Tatum, his primary matchup. But he turned on the elbow to help teammate Jalen Johnson as Celtics’ Jaylen Brown looked to drive. Along with Johnson, Daniels cut off Brown’s attempt. As the Celtics guard turned and tried to dribble out of the trap Daniels launched forward and picked Brown’s pocket.
He can make those same plays even in traffic. On Nov. 15, Daniels cleanly stole the ball away with two hands from Wizards guard Jordan Poole, while fighting through a screen from rookie center Alex Sarr.
“I think, offense and defense are so manipulated to do the same thing every time,” Daniels said. “Offensive players know that a defensive player is going to try get in the hip and fight over a screen. I think just knowing little things, like sometimes I’m gonna play, on the outside hip and rather than try get through the screen, I’m going over the screen, behind him, kind of.
“And, if they make a really good pass, a bounce pass, where they can turn the corner, then sometimes I get in trouble. But that’s a hard pass to make. And if I’m able to stay close enough, I’m able to get a hand in there, and they just don’t expect you to be there as well. So that’s when I can come in and get those little tip balls and stuff like that. So I think it’s just about reading the game, trying to do different stuff that they’re not used to seeing, and confuse them a little bit.”
This season, Daniels has so many highlights. He sticks to the back of his man and as he tries to dribble by him and quickly swats the ball away where a teammate corrals it.
Of Daniels’ five steals in the Hawks’ matchup against the Nets on Oct. 23, several came from him simply poking the ball away from the opponent.
Even dribble handoffs aren’t safe. Daniels will keep shuffling his feet, stay in front and turn at just the right time to snatch the ball, as he did in the Hawks’ Nov. 3 win at the Pelicans.
While Daniels has been able to make plays in the open, he hasn’t shied from making moves when opposing players look to make contact. On Nov. 9, Bulls forward Zach LaVine posted Daniels up at the elbow on the floor. As soon as LaVine turned his head to the basket, Daniels reached around his back and poked the ball away toward Capela.
“I think it’s more about his instincts, his length,” Snyder said. “... He calculates the times where he, I don’t even want to call it gambling, when he looks to make a play, versus when he’s more aware of just making it hard on his matchup. But I think it’s a unique thing about the way that he plays defense. He’s able to guard his man and still make plays without taking himself out of position.”
Daniels’ presence on the floor has helped to raise the level of the team’s defense, and he’s made easier the jobs of the Hawks centers Capela and Onyeka Okongwu. With the return of De’Andre Hunter to the lineup, the Hawks can come up with even more game-clinching stops.
When the Hawks faced the Kings in Sacramento, it was Hunter who herded guard De’Aaron Fox to the elbow. Then it was Daniels who finished the play with a block and steal.
“This what he does every night,” Capela said. “But, what really shocked me is that he was really doing it against every time the best player that he was guarding, guys like Jayson Tatum and other guys. It was so impressive that he was able to get that many steals, even against Sacramento. ... I’m, like, ‘How did you do that? ... So, all props to him, and I can’t wait for him to show us even more this season.”
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