Hawks Dyson Daniels wins NBA’s Most Improved Player

The Hawks may have been snubbed for a couple of awards. Zaccharie Risacher did just about all he could in the second half of the season to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, and Dyson Daniels couldn’t have put together a better season as a perimeter defender, yet finished second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year race. However, Daniels will be taking home some hardware after his first season with the Hawks, winning the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is the recipient of the George Mikan Trophy as the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player. pic.twitter.com/Toq8U9WPIl

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 30, 2025

It’s unfortunate the Defensive Player of the Year award has pretty much become a big man’s award, but the Most Improved Player award is no consolation prize. In fact, I would argue it’s an even greater testament to who Daniels has become as a player.

Everybody knew about Daniels’ potential on the defensive side of the floor. The bigger questions surrounded the type of player he could be offensively. That was going to ultimately determine his ceiling, and he responded with career highs across the board. Daniels averaged over 14 points per game to go along with 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He shot nearly 50% from the field and saw a tremendous uptick in his three-point shooting, knocking down shots from behind the arc at a 34% clip.

There’s little to complain about when it comes to Dyson Daniels’ overall game. He’s the best perimeter defender in basketball and is able to score at an efficient clip on the other side while also serving as an above average facilitator. When it comes to these awards, Atlanta Hawks players are often overlooked, but Dyson Daniels’ progression in his third season was too great to ignore.

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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire

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