DYSON DANIELS IS crouched low in his defensive stance, all arms and legs, blocking my path to the hoop. It’s a sight playmakers around the NBA have come, if not to fear, then certainly respect. But today I’m treating Daniels like he’s a dad in my regular Saturday morning pick-up game.
Conscious the camera is rolling, I dribble behind my back, drive hard to the basket, and fake to put up a shot with my left hand. Astonishingly Daniels bites, launching into the air to swat the shot, as I pivot back on to my right and score with a little jump hook. I’m ecstatic, imagining burgeoning viral fame for managing to school one of the best young defenders in the NBA. Daniels plays a long. “Oh no, he’s got it, he’s got it,” he laughs, before accepting my high-five.
It’s only later, when I watch the clip back, that I see how little effort Daniels was putting in. And I feel silly. Did I really think Daniels was going to go full tilt on me? This is a man who’s locked up some of the best perimeter players in the NBA, for crissakes. He’s even made life tough for the great Devin Booker, though the Phoenix Suns superstar would get his revenge in what would become Daniels’ ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment.
“The first time I played Booker, I held him to maybe 13 points,” says Daniels, who’s talking to MH today at the Sydney Kings’ practice facility in Moore Park. “Then we played him a week later and obviously he didn’t take that lightly. And came back and got 52 on my head. Next game was 58, next game was 54. He definitely has something against New Orleans, so I’m glad I’m not on that team anymore so I can get a fresh start at him. We’ll see how that goes.”
Daniels is relishing a new shot at a lot of things. In his time in New Orleans, he established himself as a lockdown defender, as he learned how to be a pro from vets like Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Garrett Temple. “These guys just taught me what I need to do to get on the floor, prepare for games, take care of my body,” Daniels says. “I think coming in at such a young age, you learn a lot really quick. I’ve built my foundation now. It’s just about building it up.”
After being traded to Atlanta this off-season, Daniels is looking forward to playing with one of the NBA’s premier playmakers in Trae Young. “Hopefully we can catch a few lobs, a few highlight plays,” he laughs. “A guy like that, who has such gravity, playing off him you get some open looks. It’s going to be fun.”
With the Hawks in something of a rebuild, Daniels is likely to see more playing time and is ready to seize his moment. “I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for me,” he says. “We’ve got a younger team over there, a lot of opportunity. I loved my time in New Orleans, but I don’t think I necessarily fit in that team with some of the guys and was playing behind some guys. Hopefully I can go into Atlanta and stamp my spot in their team.”
Daniels is keen to dig further into his defensive presence, targeting All-defensive team honours and Defensive Player of the Year contention as career goals – he’s going to have to learn not to bite on fakes from middle-aged pick-up hoopers – while taking the opportunities he’s given to unlock his offensive game.
“I mean defence is something I’ve always prided myself on, so that’s always going to be my staple piece and what I build around,” Daniels says. “But I have so much more offensively to give. I have so much more offensively to learn. And I think I have the body, I have the skill set, it’s just about trusting my work, believing in myself and going out there and doing it. I feel like people haven’t seen that side of me yet.”
The NBA may not have seen it, but the Aussie public was given a taste of Daniels’ offensive potential at Paris 2024, where he shot 38 per cent from behind the arc in the tournament, including three from four in the Boomers’ win over Spain.
“I mean it’s no surprise that I shot well in the Olympics,” he says. “I think that’s the work that I’ve done with my trainer, Tony, over the past few months. I was able to go out there and just trust my work, trust my shot. And that’s the biggest thing; if I miss a shot, the next shot, having the same mentality going into it. My teammates trust me and my coaches trust me. I put in the work. It’s just about trusting myself.”
Looking back on his first Olympic campaign now, Daniels can’t help wondering at what might have been. The Boomers were up 46-22 midway through the second quarter against Serbia, a team that pushed the mighty US to the limit in the semis.
“There wasn’t much said after that,” says Daniels of the loss to Serbia. “Everyone was down. We had such high expectations coming in and when you fall short in a game we gave ourselves a good chance to win, it hurts. There was a lot of what ifs and still is. What if we got through that game, got a chance at USA. Everyone brings everything they’ve got against them. We had a good crack in the warm-up game. It would’ve been nice to have another crack.”
Daniels is keen to build on the Boomers’ legacy, having been inculcated with the team’s gritty, flag-first, no dickheads approach at last year’s FIBA World Cup. “We started that campaign in Cairns with Patty putting on a dinner, a Kup-Murri out in the bush, where they cook it on hot rocks” he says. “I learned a lot from Patty and guys like Joe [Ingles] and Delly [Matthew Dellavedova]. Just getting into the Australian culture and really digging deep down to find where Australia’s from and building that culture from the ground up. That was my first taste. Then coming into this campaign, we had our flags everywhere we go. We had Australian music only. It really is a culture thing. We’ve got to carry through what guys like Patty and Joe have built with the younger guys coming through.”
Being back in Australia this offseason allowed Daniels to reconnect with his other sporting passion: AFL. Growing up in Bendigo in central Victoria, Daniels, like many many Aussie hoopers including Mills and Ben Simmons, had to make a choice between the two sports as a teenager. Funnily enough, in AFL, Daniels, who’s a Richmond supporter, was offensive minded with eyes only for the sticks. “I didn’t like the backline,” he laughs, adding he mostly played centre-half forward. “Liked kicking goals and playing in the midfield, getting touches. I was an attacker in AFL, defender in basketball. Wasn’t the best kick, but I was good in the air and always won the ball. Hopefully one day we can go back and play, we’ll see.” You can bet there would be a few clubs who’d give him a go.
While he’s been home, Daniels has been working hard on another passion play: the launch of his new clothing line, Vouseti. The project, which he founded with a childhood mate from Bendigo, has allowed Daniels to explore his love of fashion at a granular level, while honouring the strength of the pair’s bond. “I’m really into fashion. I like dressing up,” says the 21-year-old, who has the height, cheekbones and green eyes that make him a natural for the runway or catalogue work. “To finally be able to have the opportunity to launch my brand and do it with a friend has been amazing. We have two arrows facing back-to-back on every piece and it symbolises friendship and having each other’s back. That’s what me and my friend have always talked about, we’ve always had each other’s back.”
Daniels is conscious that a pivotal year lies ahead. A player’s third year in the league is often the time when they either make a leap or become ‘who they are’. With a new team, a new coach and a determination to shoot his shot, you get the feeling Daniels is ready to level up. “I hope I shoot up and show people who I really am and what I can really do.”
Dyson Daniels’ workout
During the off-season, Daniels does 4–6-week blocks dedicated to a specific physical goal, like building muscle mass. “Right now, my block is power and speed. After a couple of weeks off, getting that speed, that take-off speed back. Four weeks ago, I was really focused on putting on size and getting in a lot of heavy lifting.” Here’s Daniels’ routine for building rim-shattering power
- Split squat: 4 x 6 – 3 seconds down, 3 seconds up
- Dumbbell bench press: 4 x 6 – 3 seconds up, 3 down
- Med ball swirls: 4 x 6
- Calf raises with bar: x 10
- Dumbbell catches: x 6 – “I drop and catch a dumbbell at the lowest point so that my knees can get used to that resistance at the bottom.”
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