{"id":688648,"date":"2026-05-23T03:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T03:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/688648\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T03:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T03:15:09","slug":"daniels-makes-all-nba-team-despite-3-ball-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/688648\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniels makes All-NBA team despite 3-ball struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dyson Daniels earned 2025-26 All-Defensive honours while battling shooting struggles and self-doubt.<\/p>\n

Australian Atlanta Hawks<\/a> star Dyson Daniels<\/a> remains one of the NBA\u2019s best perimeter defenders, named to his second consecutive All-NBA Defensive team despite going into a \u201cdark place\u201d over his shooting woes in 2025-26.<\/p>\n

Daniels, 22, earned second-team honours today following his first-team selection in 2024-25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FIRST TEAM
\u2022 Victor Wembanyama \u2013San Antonio Spurs
\u2022 Chet Holmgren \u2013 Oklahoma City Thunder
\u2022 Ausar Thompson \u2013 Detroit Pistons
\u2022 Rudy Gobert \u2013 Minnesota Timberwolves
\u2022 Derrick White \u2013 Boston Celtics<\/p>\n

SECOND TEAM
\u2022 Scottie Barnes \u2013\u00a0Toronto Raptors
\u2022 Cason Wallace \u2013\u00a0Oklahoma City Thunder
\u2022 Bam Adebayo \u2013 Miami Heat
\u2022 OG Anunoby \u2013 New York Knicks
\u2022 Dyson Daniels \u2013\u00a0Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n

Victor Wembanyama was a unanimous selection on the 2025\u201326 NBA All-Defensive First Team, receiving all 100 first-team votes and 200 total points for the San Antonio Spurs. Despite playing just 64 games, Wembanyama remained the NBA\u2019s most dominant defensive force, averaging 3.1 blocks per game while transforming San Antonio\u2019s entire defensive structure with his rim protection, length and ability to defend on the perimeter.<\/p>\n

Daniels finished with 50 total votes in the 2025\u201326 NBA All-Defensive Team voting to secure second-team honours for the second straight season, joining a defensive group featuring Scottie Barnes, Cason Wallace, Bam Adebayo and OG Anunoby. <\/p>\n

Daniels received nine first-team votes and 32 second-team votes after another elite perimeter defensive season with the Atlanta Hawks, where he averaged 2.0 steals per game while regularly defending the opposition\u2019s best guard and wing scorers.<\/p>\n

Daniels finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024-25 on the back of an historic year for steals, leading the NBA with 229.<\/p>\n

The Victorian went 22-for-117 (19%) this season after shifting from the two-guard to point guard when Trae Young went down injured<\/a> against the Brooklyn Nets on October 30, 2025. The role would become permanent when the Hawks traded Young<\/a> to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert on January 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

Dyson Daniels (2025\u201326, Atlanta Hawks)\u200dGames: 76 \u2502 Minutes: 33.2 \u2502 Points: 11.9 \u2502 FG: 51.7% \u2502 3PT: 18.8% \u2502 FT: 61.5% \u2502 Rebounds: 6.8 \u2502 Assists: 5.9 \u2502 Steals: 2.0 \u2502 Blocks: 0.4 \u2502 Turnovers: 1.8 \u2502 Fouls: 2.2 \u2502 DPOY: 9th\"\"Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels defends Karl-Anthony Towns during Game 5 of the Hawks\u2019 first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York on April 28, 2026. Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

When asked what his off-season focus would be, Daniels said on the Tommy Talks<\/a> podcast this week: \u201cThe obvious one is the three-point shot. I need to become more reliable offensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a tough year mentally. I got in my own head and was second-guessing every decision instead of playing free.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually glad it happened because now I know what that headspace feels like and how to get out of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried everything. It\u2019s a dark place when you get in your head and don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started working with a psychologist every week. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt took probably two months to really understand how the mind works and how breathing techniques can calm you down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started reading more, going on walks, playing golf \u2013 just finding time for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dyson Daniels 2025-26 Shooting Splits (Per Game + Percentages)FG: 51.7% (5.3-from-10.2)2PT: 57.6% (5.0-from-8.7)3PT: 18.8% (0.3-from-1.5)FT: 61.5% (1.0-of-1.6)eFG%: 53.2Dyson Daniels Career Shooting Splits (Per Game \u2013 4 Seasons)FG: 48.8% (4.0-from-8.2)2PT: 55.4% (3.4-from-6.1)3PT: 29.8% (0.6-from-2.1)FT: 61.4% (0.8-of-1.3)eFG%: 52.7<\/p>\n

Despite the shift to the point of attack, Daniels still had 149 steals and 31 blocks. He was voted the best perimeter defender before the start of the season by NBA general managers:<\/p>\n

\"\"Who is the best perimeter defender in the NBA?\u200dDyson Daniels, Atlanta \u2013 31%\u200dAlex Caruso, Oklahoma City \u2013 24%Amen Thompson, Houston \u2013 22%Lu Dort, Oklahoma City \u2013 14%Jrue Holiday, Portland \u2013 7%Ausar Thompson, Detroit \u2013 2%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dyson Daniels earned 2025-26 All-Defensive honours while battling shooting struggles and self-doubt. Australian Atlanta Hawks star Dyson Daniels…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-688648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}