After headlining the NBA All-Defensive First Team this season, Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels could be in for a massive contract extension soon, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.
The 22-year-old swingman is eligible to sign a new extension until the start of the 2025-26 regular season. The Atlanta Hawks are expected to exercise Daniels’ $7.7 million team option this season before he can hit restricted free agency in the summer of 2026.
“Atlanta’s toughest decision will be finding the correct number for a long-term commitment to Dyson Daniels, who won the Most Improved Player award and came in second for Defensive Player of the Year this past season,” Pincus wrote in his column.
“Daniels, who is extension-eligible until the start of the 2025-26 regular season, will undoubtedly expect to be rewarded for his impact. He’s only 22 and figures to be fairly expensive. Projection: Daniels gets at least $94 million over four years,” he added.
Dyson Daniels’ breakout 2024-25 season with the Atlanta Hawks
Dyson Daniels wasn’t supposed to have a breakout campaign when the Atlanta Hawks acquired him in the Dejounte Murray trade, but he did. The Australian international averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.0 steals (league high) on 49.3 percent shooting from the field across 76 regular season starts.
He may not have won the Defensive Player of the Year. However, Daniels deservedly took home the Most Improved Player of the Year award, beating out the likes of Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac.
Daniels also became the first guard to lead the league in total stocks (284 steals and blocks) since 1988 Defensive Player of the Year Michael Jordan. He also recorded a league-best 444 deflections, the most by any player since the NBA started tracking the statistic in 2015-16.
