Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team on Friday, earning All-Defensive honors for the second consecutive season.
Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team on Friday, his second straight All-Defensive selection.
Daniels picked up 9 first-place votes and 32 second-place votes from the 100-member global media panel for 50 points, 10th in the overall voting. He made the All-Defensive First Team a year ago after leading the league with 229 steals and finishing as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year.
The Bendigo, Australia, native tied for the NBA lead in steals per game at 2.0, sharing the top spot with Oklahoma City's Cason Wallace. He averaged 11.9 points, a career-high 6.8 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in 33.2 minutes over 76 games, shooting 51.7% from the field, 18.8% from 3, and 61.5% at the line.
The 2.0 steals were a step back from 3.0 a season ago, when Daniels became the youngest player in league history to reach 200 steals in a single season. He finished ninth in this year's Defensive Player of the Year vote.
The Hawks finished with a top-10 defensive rating for the first time in nearly a decade, with Daniels as the primary point-of-attack defender most nights. He moved from shooting guard to point guard after Trae Young went down with an injury on Oct. 30, 2025, and the shift became permanent when Atlanta dealt Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert on Jan. 9.
The All-Defensive First Team: Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, Thunder center Chet Holmgren, Pistons wing Ausar Thompson, Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, and Celtics guard Derrick White. Wembanyama was the lone unanimous pick, named to the First Team on all 100 ballots for the maximum 200 points. Holmgren was next at 190, with 93 First Team votes and 4 Second Team votes.
Daniels was joined on the Second Team by Raptors wing Scottie Barnes (130 points), Wallace (94), Heat center Bam Adebayo (71), and Knicks forward OG Anunoby (67). The teams are positionless, with First Team votes worth 2 points and Second Team votes worth 1.
Holmgren, Thompson, Barnes, and Wallace were first-time All-Defensive honorees. Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, made his ninth All-Defensive team and his eighth First Team. Adebayo now has two First Team and four Second Team selections. White earned his first First Team nod after two prior Second Team appearances. Wembanyama and Daniels had each made the First Team once before, and Anunoby had a Second Team nod from 2023.
Fifteen other players landed on at least one ballot. Spurs guard Stephon Castle and Rockets guard Amen Thompson tied for the most at 46 points each, followed by Warriors forward Draymond Green (40) and Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (28).
The Hawks were eliminated by the Knicks in six games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Atlanta picks 23rd in the 2026 NBA Draft.
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