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Community Shootaround: First Half’s Pleasant Surprises, Disappointments

January 11th, 2025 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The fact that Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball has been able to play in 19 games so far this season is an achievement in itself, given that he missed the previous two-and-a-half years while dealing with ongoing knee problems. As Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps write for ESPN.com (Insider link), what’s even more impressive is how impactful Ball has been during his time on the court.

Although his numbers, including 5.8 points per game on .359/.318/.750, don’t look especially strong, Ball is once again making the sorts of winning plays that don’t show up in the box score. Chicago has a +6.9 net rating when he’s on the court, compared to a -5.0 mark when he’s not.

“Someone is going to get him next year and look smart,” one executive said to ESPN of Ball, who is on an expiring contract.

Ball is among several players identified by Windhorst and Bontemps as the pleasant surprises of the first half of the 2024/25 NBA season. Here are a few more of the names on that list:

Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks: “He’s been everything the Knicks were hoping for and more, and his absence has left a larger hole than the Wolves would’ve ever thought,” a scout told ESPN.
Cade Cunningham, Pistons: “When the Pistons gave him the max, there were quite a few people who thought it was a risk, and he’s been very strong,” a general manager said.
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs: “What he’s doing is just ridiculous,” an executive said. “Say whatever you want about him meeting expectations; if he gets that roster to the playoffs, he should get MVP votes. And he might.”
Norman Powell, Clippers: “He’s gotten more minutes and shots, but no one would’ve believed he’d take this leap at this stage of his career,” an exec said to ESPN.

James Harden (Clippers), Dyson Daniels (Hawks), and Cameron Johnson (Nets) are among the others mentioned by ESPN’s duo.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Heat teammates Terry Rozier and Jaime Jaquez, and Sixers center Joel Embiid are among the season’s biggest disappointments, as identified by Windhorst, Bontemps, and the sources they spoke to. Here are a few more of the players in that group:

Paul George, Sixers: “Philly probably knew there was a chance they’d have a rough PG year on this contract but they probably thought it would be year four — not year one,” an executive said.
Kyle Kuzma, Wizards: “I know he’s dealt with an injury,” one scout told ESPN, “but I think this has been the most disappointing season of his career.”
Scoot Henderson, Trail Blazers: “I thought it was a guarantee he’d play much better this year than last and show some things,” an exec said. “I’ve been wrong. His numbers are down, and the eye (test) confirms it.”

We want to know what you think.

Which NBA players have you been most pleasantly surprised or disappointed by so far this season? Are there any names on ESPN’s lists – or scouts’ and executives’ comments – that you strongly agree or disagree with?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Mann, Hawks, Nance, Brogdon

December 28th, 2024 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hornets thought they were moving past their injury woes two weeks ago when LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and Mark Williams were in the lineup together for the first time in nearly 12 months, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. However, that quartet didn’t last a full game, and the injuries have continued ever since. Ball, Miller and Cody Martin were all on the sidelines tonight as Charlotte lost at home against Oklahoma City.

“It’s difficult — obviously we’ve had more injuries than we’ve wanted,” Josh Green said. “But at the end of the day, I feel like that’s also the NBA. There’s always injuries and for us to be successful, it doesn’t take three guys. The whole team needs to be ready to play. Yeah, it’s very unfortunate we haven’t had our starting group. I think maybe one game we’ve had them. But we become a better team when we can win without them. And when we get them back, we become an even better team. That’s the way I look at it.”

The Hornets entered the season hoping to contend for a play-in spot with first-year coach Charles Lee guiding a solid collection of young talent. But whether injuries or other factors are to blame, Charlotte seems headed for another high lottery pick, going 1-15 since November 23 and falling into a tie with Toronto for 13th place in the East.

“Everyone’s journey is different,” Lee said. “There’s no quit in this team and there’s a ton of fight, which is what I love. Because that’s what it’s going to take. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. Life doesn’t feel sorry for you. The world keeps spinning, and so you’ve got to figure out how do I just kind of reset and refocus and come with the right attitude to try to make a change? And a lot of that has got to be your actions.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Hornets got some encouraging news on Saturday as Tre Mann was able to work out before the game, Boone adds. The reserve guard has missed the past 16 games with disc irritation in his lower back. “I think that he’s made some positive steps,” Lee said. “I was joking with him (Friday). It looked like he had a little more pep in his step, and so I was glad to see that.”
The Hawks were also short-handed in Saturday’s win over Miami, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Dyson Daniels was unavailable due to illness, and Bogdan Bogdanovic was sidelined with a left lower leg contusion. Vit Krejci replaced Daniels in the starting lineup, and two-way player Keaton Wallace logged more than 13 minutes after being called up from the G League. “A lot of guys found themselves in some different situations,” coach Quin Snyder said.
Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr. suffered a hand injury during the game, the team announced (via Twitter). Additional details and a timeline for his return will be shared later.
It’s hard to be optimistic about a team with a 5-24 record, but veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon believes the Wizards are moving in the right direction, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “This team is actually just getting better every day,” Brogdon said after Saturday’s overtime loss to New York. “… We won that one game — maybe that was Denver, or whatever game that was — and we’ve seen ourselves, even with the losses after that game, get better every day, every practice, every game.”

Southeast Notes: Daniels, Hawks Trade, Banchero, Smith

December 28th, 2024 at 8:31am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hawks acquired one of the best defenders in the NBA when they obtained Dyson Daniels in this past summer’s Dejounte Murray trade, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. Daniels’ 6.5 deflections per game so far this season represent the highest average since the NBA started tracking the stat.

“Dyson is a menace and I’m excited he gets to show that more this year,” said teammate Larry Nance Jr. “Deep wing and guards situation in New Orleans, then he comes here and gets put in a situation where he can grow and expand and make mistakes without having another player breathing down your neck for minutes.”

Weiss explores Daniels’ defensive prowess and how he became such an effective weapon on that end of the court. He’s averaging a league-high 3.1 steals along with 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 0.9 blocks per contest.

“I think the trade for him was a massive blessing in disguise. Well, not even in disguise,” Daniels’ friend Josh Giddey said. “He’s just had the opportunity to flourish and show his true colors. He’s one of the best defenders in the world. He’s always had that defensive ability and I’m glad it’s on full display for everyone to see. … Maybe I’m biased because we’re very close, but in my opinion, he’s the runaway for Defensive Player of the Year.”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

The Hawks reset their franchise’s trajectory by trading for Daniels, cap expert Yossi Gozlan writes on his subscriber-only Substack. While Atlanta is still in play-in territory, the team replenished its draft capital by acquiring two first-rounders alongside Daniels in the Murray trade, as well as a strong rotation player in Nance.
As we wrote on Friday, Magic star Paolo Banchero remains out but had his injury designation changed to “return to competition reconditioning” as he nears his first game back since October. He spoke on Friday to reporters, including The Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede, about the checkpoints that remain before he can play again, explaining that he still hasn’t participated in any five-on-five scrimmaging and hasn’t done full contact, both of which are precursors to returning from an injury. “I’ve been trying to get back since I first went out, really,” Banchero said. “Now, it’s just going to be the fun part of getting back into actually playing. I feel I’ve just been showing up to the arena, just to watch for a long time now, so I’m going to just be excited just to be suiting up to play, warming up and getting back out here with the team.“
Heat guard Dru Smith underwent successful surgery on Friday for his ruptured left Achilles, the team announced (via Twitter). He’s expected to miss the remainder of the 2024/25 season.

Southeast Notes: Joseph, Daniels, Wizards, Hornets

December 20th, 2024 at 6:51pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Well-traveled Magic veteran guard Cory Joseph is becoming a valuable locker room presence for a rising young Orlando squad in his first season with the team, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.

“The league’s getting younger and they keep me young, too,” Joseph said of his Magic teammates. “It continues to change and you have to continue to adapt. I’m asking a lot of questions as well, trying to learn from them.”

Rookie forward Tristan Da Silva, the No. 18 pick in this summer’s draft, sang the point guard’s praises.

“He’s a great leader for this team, even though he’s not on the court as much,” Da Silva said. “He still has a huge impact on this team.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

New Hawks guard Dyson Daniels‘s goal is to improve his shooting mechanics and increase his three-point output this season, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Williams notes Daniels has made 30.8% of his 3.4 three-point tries per game overall this season, but also enjoyed a more consistent run between November 18-29, when he nailed 42.9% of 3.5 attempts per game.
Washington, D.C.’s Capital One Arena, home to both the Wizards and the NHL’s Capitals, has gotten the green light for a $515MM renovation, ensuring that both clubs will stick around for the long-term, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic.
Following a Thursday loss to lowly Washington, the Hornets have now dropped nine of their last 10 contests and fallen to a 7-20 record on the year. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer wonders how, or if, Charlotte will be able to right the ship this year, even in a less competitive Eastern Conference — three East play-in teams have records below .500, but Charlotte is 4.5 games back of the No. 10 seed. The Hornets’ “core four” of All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, forwards Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, and center Mark Williams has rarely been able to stay on the court together thus far this season.

Hawks Notes: NBA Cup, Johnson, Young, Daniels

December 14th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Poor shooting late in Saturday’s game ended the Hawks‘ surprising run to the NBA Cup semifinals, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta had numerous chances in the fourth quarter with Milwaukee leading by a possession or two, but only managed to go 1-for-7 from the field in the final five minutes. The result was an eight-point loss that sends the Bucks to the finals, but coach Quin Snyder was happy with his team’s effort throughout the tournament.

“I think the story line for me is just how we compete, and that our consistency in that area is the most important thing that I think we have to do to continue to try to build an identity,” Snyder said. “And this was an opportunity this whole tournament, to play in some situations and some games against really good teams, and try to do that. And you find out about yourself. You find out when you’re in a game like this, you’re able to look back and say, we need to do this better. And we did this pretty well.”

Trae Young went on a scoring binge in the third quarter, posting 14 of his 35 points to make the game close. Despite the offensive heroics, Williams states that Young was most proud of his defense, as he repeatedly contested shots whenever Milwaukee tried to target him.

“The defensive end is going to get us where we really want to go, especially when where I want to go,” he said.

There’s more on the Hawks:

Jalen Johnson‘s on-court growth is obvious — as he’s followed last season’s breakout by putting up even better numbers — but he has become a team leader as well, Williams adds in a separate story. Even though Johnson is only 22 and in his fourth NBA season, he has become one of the longest-tenured players on the team and he’s willing to speak up in huddles and provide tips to younger teammates. “I think we’re all a pretty tight-knit group,” he said. “We’re all relatively around the same age. That kind of helps, especially locker room-wise and team chemistry-wise. I think we’re doing a great job of just holding each other accountable. Nobody’s afraid to say anything to each other. We’re all open to constructive criticism. That’s sometimes tough. Everybody has an ego in their own way. We’ve done a great job of just listening to one another, and I think that’s what’s going to help us win at the end of the day.”
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers sees improved chemistry in Atlanta, particularly involving Young, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The star guard has been accused throughout his career of being a poor teammate and a weak defender, but he seems to be outgrowing that reputation. “He’s earned the trust of his players,” Rivers said. “This team likes playing with him. That’s obvious. I couldn’t say that in the past, but now they love playing with him.”
Dyson Daniels had no idea he was a candidate to be traded when he got a message from Pelicans general manager Bryson Graham that he had been sent to Atlanta, Jake Fischer writes in a Substack column. Although Daniels was surprised by the news, which was delivered while he was in Australia preparing for the Summer Olympics, the move to the Hawks seemed to unlock his game, putting him in the conversation for Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year. “I wasn’t happy with how I played my first two years in New Orleans,” he said. “I was playing tense. I wasn’t happy with how I was providing for the team. I was fueled by that. I wanted to get back to being myself and playing free.”

Hawks Notes: Bogdanovic, Young, Risacher, Daniels, NBA Cup

December 13th, 2024 at 12:10pm CST by Rory Maher

While the Hawks are excited by their young core of Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu and Zaccharie Risacher, they’re also willing to listen to trade offers for their veterans given their place in the standings, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link). Atlanta is currently 14-12, the No. 7 seed in the East, and in the play-in mix for the fourth consecutive season.

According to Bontemps, one player opposing teams are intrigued by is Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is in his fifth season with the Hawks. The 32-year-old Serbian will earn $17.3MM in 2024/25, followed by $16MM in ’25/26, with a $16MM team option for ’26/27.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

In the same subscriber-only story, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that star guard Trae Young hosted Daniels and Risacher for a “multiday training and bonding session” at his offseason home in Oklahoma after the Olympics concluded over the summer, which his younger teammates “greatly appreciated.” Young can be introverted at times, and the Hawks have been working with him to improve his leadership skills, according to Windhorst. The team has been encouraged by the advancements Young has made in that area, though Windhorst cautions it’s still a “work in progress.”
French wing Risacher says he’s thrilled he was drafted by Atlanta, he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “The best thing about being the No. 1 pick was to be able to get into this franchise, the Atlanta Hawks,” Risacher said. “That is the best thing that could ever happen. Me in terms of basketball, I’m super super-grateful to be here in this organization.”
The Hawks are pleased with the strides Risacher has made during his rookie campaign, as Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. “He’s the No. 1 pick for a reason,” Young said. “You’re not put in that position or blessed to be in that position if you haven’t been through a lot or seen a lot, or even capable of handling that type of stuff. And you can see that he’s just capable of handling a lot of the things that come his way. He’s taken every night serious the way he approaches the game. He’s been locked in, even though some nights the shots are not falling the way he expects or we expect them to, he still finds other ways to impact our team and help us. And that just shows how good of a player he is.”
Speaking to Tommy Alter on The Young Man and The Three podcast (YouTube link), Daniels says he’s happy he was traded by the Pelicans to the Hawks over the offseason, calling it a “fresh start.” “In New Orleans, I had so much built up in me mentally and physically. I was scared to do anything,” Daniels said, per HoopsHype. “But this year, I’m playing free. I’m being myself, going out there and making plays. I always knew I could do it—it was just about letting it out.”
The Hawks have been playing excellent basketball since they got to full strength, going 7-1 over their past eight games, with victories over Cleveland (twice), Boston and Milwaukee. As Chris Herring of ESPN notes, Atlanta’s latest win over the Knicks gave the Hawks a berth in the semifinals of the NBA Cup. Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes a look at how Atlanta has improved over the past few weeks, with Young and Johnson spearheading a balanced offensive attack.

Hawks Notes: Young, Daniels, Snyder, Johnson

December 7th, 2024 at 6:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Trae Young posted a historic line in Friday’s overtime win against the Lakers, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Hawks guard had 31 points, 20 assists and five three-pointers, making him the first player to reach those numbers in a single game since at least 1979/80.

He capped the night with a game-winning three-pointer after being unexpectedly left wide open. Young passed the ball to De’Andre Hunter, who had already made five shots from beyond the arc, and when the defense double-teamed him, nobody rotated to Young.

“I think Trae made a good read,” Hunter said. “He started to attack slightly. They both went with him. When he passed it to me, I saw them both run at me. So it was kind of a simple play. Trae reads space. He was making shots all the night, so I was confident he would make that one, for sure.”

It was a welcome performance by Young, who has been struggling with his shot for most of the season. Williams notes that he’s only connecting at 37.5% from the field and 30.7% from beyond the arc since October 27, as opposing teams have been trapping him or picking him up full court to force the ball out of his hands. With the roster getting healthier, Young expects to get more open looks and more opportunities to create for his teammates.

“If you’ve been watching, we’ve been having a lot of guys in double figures,” he said. “So this wasn’t the first night that it’s been like this. So we just got to continue to keep it going. Even in some of our losses, we had a lot of guys scoring. So, we just got to keep it going. And now we got guys healthy. We found a little rhythm. We got can’t get too high or too low at any moment.”

There’s more from Atlanta:

A lot of preparation goes into Dyson Daniels‘ disruptive defense, Williams adds in a separate story. The 21-year-old guard is having his best season in his first year with the Hawks, leading the league in steals by a wide margin and being recognized as the first-ever Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month. Daniels explained his intensive study of the players he has to guard. “One thing for me is I know where people have to bring the ball to get power to go up,” he said. “So, a guy like Giannis (Antetokounmpo), for example, he got me a couple times (and) I missed it. But you have to bring the ball across your body to get your power. So usually, if someone gets past me, and there’s a big at the rim, and they try Euro step, they’re always going to bring the ball across their body to the left side. So that’s when I can swipe it.”
The Hawks are on a five-game winning streak as coach Quin Snyder‘s vision for the team is being realized, observes Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype. Putting an emphasis on taking advantage of athleticism to score in transition, Snyder has the Hawks eighth in the league in scoring and 11th in pace.
Jalen Johnson has been added to the Hawks’ injury report with soreness in his right shoulder, Williams tweets. He’s considered questionable for Sunday’s game with Denver.

And-Ones: Woj, Awards, Samanic, Van Exel

December 5th, 2024 at 4:16pm CST by Rory Maher

In mid-September, perhaps the most surprising news of the NBA offseason occurred: Adrian Wojnarowski announced that he was retiring from ESPN and the news industry as a whole. It was later reported that he would become the general manager of the basketball program at St. Bonaventure, with the school confirming the news.

Speaking to his friend and former Yahoo Sports colleague Chris Mannix, who now works for Sports Illustrated, Wojnarowski explained his decision to leave his position at ESPN to work for his alma mater. He took a major pay cut, going from $7.3MM to $75K annually, but he was “burned out” by the always-on nature of his previous job. He was already advising the school on its search for the new position, as well as doing most of the work the job entailed.

“What I was doing, it just wasn’t fulfilling anymore,” Woj said. “I was just done. This is what gets me excited. To learn something new, to be part of something like this. It’s a whole new challenge.”

Wojnarowski, 55, also revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March, which he alluded to in his retirement statement (“time isn’t in endless supply”), but the prognosis is good — he told Mannix he isn’t experiencing any symptoms, having been diagnosed early, and the cancer is “pretty limited in scope.”

Wojnarowski sent out a tweet addressing the diagnosis. “Appreciate all the kind words and concern but I’m going to be fine. My goal in sharing a prostate cancer diagnosis is to encourage screening and testing among men. Early diagnosis will make all the difference for me —- and many others too.”

There are more interesting details on Woj’s decision in Mannix’s story, which is worth reading in full.

Here are some more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Josh Robbins, Eric Nehm and Kelly Iko of The Athletic weigh in on the awards races thus far for the 2024/25 season. Interestingly, there’s no consensus choice among the three for any of the major awards. For Most Improved Player, Robbins selected Magic forward Franz Wagner, Nehm picked Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Iko chose Nuggets wing Christian Braun.
Former NBA forward Luka Samanic, a 2019 first-round pick, has signed with Croatian club KK Cibona, according to the team (Twitter link). The 24-year-old forward, who spent last season with Utah, was born in Zagreb, where the team is based. Fenerbahce reportedly holds Samanic’s EuroLeague rights for the rest of the season, but the Turkish club doesn’t compete in any of the same leagues as his new Croatian team.
Longtime NBA point guard and veteran assistant Nick Van Exel has decided to exit coaching, having co-founded a new agency called 100x Sports, per Marc Stein (Twitter link). Van Exel worked in various player development, scouting and coaching roles for Milwaukee, Memphis, Dallas, and most recently Atlanta over the past decade-plus.

Southeast Notes: Daniels, Ware, Wizards, Williams

December 4th, 2024 at 10:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, acquired as part of Atlanta’s blockbuster trade that shipped Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, put the defensive clamps on Murray during the former Hawk’s first game against his old team, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Murray was limited to shooting just 2-of-15 from the field against the Hawks on Monday, while Daniels notched 19 points on 50% field goal shooting.

Murray was the subject of frequent boos from the Atlanta home crowd, and couldn’t get much offense cooking against Daniels. Daniels has emerged as the defense-first backcourt partner for Trae Young that the Hawks had hoped Murray would be when they first acquired him from the Spurs in 2022.

The 21-year-old Daniels is in the third season of his rookie-scale deal, and seems to be fitting in nicely with his new squad. So far this year, the 6’8″ guard is averaging a career-best 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per night.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Heat sent rookie center Kel’el Ware to their G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, this week for the first time this season, reports Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Ware has played a grand total of 69 minutes across Miami’s first 20 contests this year, so his stint with the Skyforce will give him a chance for increased reps. The seven-footer was selected with the No. 15 pick out of Indiana.
The Wizards‘ epic losing streak has reached 15 games, approaching the team’s franchise record, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Washington tied that record, 16 straight defeats, just last season. The Wizards could potentially match or even break that tally in the coming days. Washington next plays Dallas (Thursday), Denver (Saturday), and Memphis (Sunday), all Western Conference squads with winning records.
Hornets center Mark Williams suited up for his first game in almost a year, a 110-104 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday. Williams had been sidelined with a lingering strained tendon in his left foot this fall after missing most of last season due to a back issue. Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes that the big moment signified a positive step forward for the young center. Notching just nine minutes of action, the seven-foot big man scored four points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and 2-of-2 shooting from the foul line. He also pulled down three rebounds and blocked one shot.

Spurs’ Wembyanama, Hawks’ Daniels Named Defensive Players Of The Month

December 3rd, 2024 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has introduced a new monthly award, announcing today that Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama (Western Conference) and Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (Eastern Conference) are the first players to earn the Defensive Player of the Month honor (Twitter link). The award applies to games played in October and November

Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year and last season’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, matched his NBA-leading block average from last season by blocking a league-high 3.6 shots per night in his first 16 games this season. According to the NBA, Wembanyama also ranked fourth in the league in contested shots (10.1) and eighth in deflections (3.3) per game during that time.

While the Spurs’ 111.5 defensive rating in October and November ranked outside the NBA’s top 10, that mark improved to 108.5 during Wembanyama’s time on the court, the equivalent of the league’s sixth-best defense.

The other nominees for Defensive Player of the Month in the West, per the NBA (Twitter link), were Anthony Davis, Luguentz Dort, Draymond Green, Jaren Jackson Jr., Toumani Camara, Clippers teammates Ivica Zubac and Kris Dunn, and Rockets reserves Tari Eason and Amen Thompson.

Over in the East, Daniels made a strong first impression with his new team after being traded from New Orleans to Atlanta during the offseason, leading the NBA in steals (3.0), deflections (6.7), and forced turnovers (2.8) per game in 19 outings (all starts) in October and November.

Daniels also contributed 0.9 blocks per contest as he made a strong early-season case for All-Defensive and Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

Daniels beat out fellow Eastern Conference nominees Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, Evan Mobley, and Jalen Suggs for the new award, according to the league.