ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has another piece of hardware for his mantle.
After being named this year’s Most Improved Player and finishing runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Daniel was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team on Thursday.
The Australian, nicknamed “The Great Barrier Thief,” led the NBA in steals with 229 total and 3.0 per game. He had the most steals in a season since the 1995-96 season and was the first player to average at least 3.0 steals per game since the 1990-91 season. He had 98 more steals than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the next closest player. It’s the largest gap in NBA history.
Daniels joined Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the only players to appear on all 100 ballots; Daniels got 91 first-team nods and nine second-team votes.
He’s the first Hawk to make the NBA All-Defensive First Team since Dikembe Mutombo in the 1997-98 season and the fifth in franchise history.
Houston Rockets guard-forward Amen Thompson, who played at Atlanta’s Overtime Elite for a year, was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Daniels, Mobley and Thompson are joined by Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort and Golden State Warriors forward-center Draymond Green.
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