Headlines
Hawks Sign ‘Most Improved’ Dyson Daniels To 4-Year, $100M Extension
Vivek Jacob is a freelance sports writer with over seven years experience. During this time, he has written for outlets including The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Sportsnet, CBC, and Complex. Primarily covering the NBA, Vivek also covers tennis, soccer, and cricket.
All posts by Vivek JacobUpdated12 hours ago on October 20, 2025
The Atlanta Hawks have signed defensive star Dyson Daniels to a four-year, $100 million extension. ESPN’s Shams Charania was first to report.
Daniels is coming off a breakout year having won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award and, finishing runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, and making the All-Defensive First Team.
He averaged 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and a league-leading 3.0 steals per game. His 229 steals last season were the most by a player since Gary Payton in 1995-96.
Daniels was selected eighth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the New Orleans Pelicans before the Hawks acquired him via trade in July 2024. The Hawks had until 5 p.m. Monday to come to an agreement.
This further solidifies the Hawks’ core having re-signed Jalen Johnson to a long-term extension earlier this summer. Zaccharie Risacher was the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Daniels is also a terrific complement to Trae Young in the backcourt. He helps mitigate a good chunk of Young’s defensive weaknesses while Young does the same for him on the offensive end.
Atlanta tips off its season at home against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Is Daniels’ Extension A Good Deal For Both Sides?
At first glance, this looks like very good value for a 22 year old player on the rise. Daniels is one of the top defenders in the league, more than doubled his scoring output from last season, and offers a decent level of ball handling and playmaking. He also shot 54.5 percent on twos.
What held Daniels back from potentially earning more is his three-point and free-throw shooting. Daniels shot 34 percent on 3.1 attempts per game from deep last season and made just 59.3 percent of his free-throws. In today’s day and age where shooting is at a premium, he will need to show improvement in that area to maximize his next contract.
Looking around the league, Christian Braun’s five-year, $125 million extension with the Nuggets shows that this is the market price for a player in this range of quality.
If the Hawks can get more out of Daniels as a jump shooter then they’ll have hit a home run.
