Dyson Daniels has capped a stellar season with a big award.

The Atlanta Hawks guard was named the NBA's Most Improved Player on Wednesday, edging out Detroit Pistons forward Cade Cunningham and Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac.

Daniels was the No. 8 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and had two unremarkable seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans to open his career. During the 2023-24 campaign, he averaged 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 22.3 minutes per game. A trade changed everything.

On July 6, 2024, the Pelicans sent Daniels to the Hawks as part of a big package in exchange for Dejounte Murray. He flourished in Atlanta.

This season, the 22-year-old averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 33.8 minutes per game. He also averaged 3.0 steals per game, which led the NBA, with Nikola Jokic coming in second at 1.8 per game. Daniels started all 76 games he played in and also notched career-highs in field goal percentage (49.3) and three-point percentage (34.0).

Cunningham and Zubac had excellent seasons but Daniels's improvement was enormous.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hawks Guard Dyson Daniels Named NBA's Most Improved Player.

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