Aussie star finishes second in voting for top NBA award

Joshua Mayne

Aussie star finishes second in voting for top NBA award image

Dyson Daniels has finished second in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting for the 2024-25 season.

It was a breakthrough campaign for the Australian, who earned the nickname 'Great Barrier Thief' for his ability to earn steals. 

The award, however, went to Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley.

It doesn't take away from a stellar campaign for the Bendigo-born talent, who made a name for himself in his third full NBA season.

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Traded to the Atlanta Hawks from the New Orleans Pelicans less than a year ago, Daniels took a significant leap with his new team.

The 22-year-old notably led the league in steals, recording an average of three per game.

His closest challenger in that metric was fellow Australian Matisse Thybulle (2.2). 

In further testament to his defensive abilities, he averaged 0.7 blocks and a league-high 5.8 deflections per night.

Daniels also averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists – all significant increases on his previous two seasons with New Orleans.

The Hawks finished the regular season in ninth before being eliminated by the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament.

Mobley finished top in the overall award vote, receiving 285 total points and 35 first-place votes.

Daniels, meanwhile, picked up 197 total points and secured 25 first-place votes.

Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green finished third in with 154 total points and 15 first-place votes.

Joshua Mayne

Joshua Mayne is a content producer for The Sporting News currently based in Sydney, Australia. He has previously worked as a newsreader at 2SER and a journalist at Ministry of Sport. Joshua specialises in rugby league, motorsport and tennis. He is still waiting for Arsenal to win the Premier League again.