After finishing as runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year award, Dyson Daniels wouldn’t miss another major individual accolade.
Daniels copped the 2025 NBA Most Improved Player honors to cap off a breakthrough campaign for the Atlanta Hawks.
The 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player is... Dyson Daniels!#NBAAwards | #KiaMIP | @Kia
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
The 22-year-old earned 44 first-place votes for a total of 332 points, beating LA Clippers big man Ivica Zubac (186) and Detroit Pistons’ superstar Cade Cunningham (122) for the George Mikan Trophy.
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 30, 2025
The complete voting results ??
Daniels thus became just the second Hawk ever to win the award after Alan Henderson (1997-98).
In his first season in Atlanta, the Australian cager registered career-highs in points (14.1), rebounds (5.9), assists (4.4), field goal percentage (49.3%), and three-point percentage (34%) in 76 games.
"I came into this third year wanting to really put my foot down and show what I can do. I think it's just a small step in the right direction this year and I feel like I got a lot more in me," Daniels said on TNT’s Inside the NBA upon the announcement.
Nicknamed “The Great Barrier Thief,” he led the league in steals per game (3.0) and total steals (229). He averaged the most steals per game in a season since Robertson in 1990-91 and recorded the most total steals in a season since Gary Payton in 1995-96.
Daniels also paced the league in deflections per game (5.8) and total deflections (443). However, Atlanta missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
