Trae Young voiced his support for his Atlanta Hawks teammate, Dyson Daniels, who missed out on the 2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award this week.
After Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley won the coveted award over Daniels and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, Young urges Daniels to use this as motivation to be even better next season.
“Motivation @DysonDaniels. Real ones know. 1of1 #RealDPOY” Young wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
The Atlanta Hawks swingman finished second in the official voting for the Defensive Player of the Year trophy, with 25 first-place votes, 17 second-place votes, and 21 third-place votes for a total of 197 points – 88 points adrift of Mobley.
Atlanta Hawks News: Dyson Daniels voted DPOY in anonymous NBA coaches poll
Josh Robbins of The Athletic recently conducted a poll with 13 participating NBA coaches. Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels was voted the best defensive player for the 2024-25 campaign with six first-place votes for a total of 42 points.
“Dyson Daniels has established himself as one of the elite perimeter defenders in the league, leading the league in steals and doing some things we haven’t seen in a long time,” one coach said about Daniels.
Daniels had a breakout year for the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and a league-leading 3.0 steals on 49.3 percent shooting from the field across 76 starts. He should at least make it to this season’s NBA All-Defensive First Team.
