With Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner Victor Wembanyama out for the rest of the season, Dyson Daniels has a shot at becoming the first Hawks player to win the DPOY award since Dikembe Mutombo won in 1998.
Wembanyama was a considerable favorite to win the award, leading the league in blocks per game with 3.8 and is in the 99th percentile of defensive box plus-minus. In his absence, Jaren Jackson Jr. has taken over as the betting favorite. Evan Mobley is just a tick behind Jackson, with Daniels further behind as the third-most likely by Vegas odds, sitting anywhere from +1200 to +1500.
Dyson Daniels is having a historic season, averaging three steals per game, which is the highest mark since Alvin Robertson averaged 3.04 steals per game in the 1990-91 season. After his three steals last night against the Magic, Daniels has now recorded more steals in a single season (151) than any player since the start of the 2019-20 campaign, and he’s done it in only 51 games.
However, the DPOY award rarely goes to guards. It’s a big man award because rim protectors have a larger impact. The last guard to win the award was Marcus Smart during the 2021-22 campaign, but he did so for a few reasons. Firstly, the voter fatigue with Rudy Gobert was obvious, and the Celtics were one of the best teams in basketball, with Boston making a Final run and Smart contributing largely on the defensive end.
The Hawks, on the other hand, are battling to get a top-six seed right now and are an overall average defense compared to the Celtics’ elite defense that year. While he certainly deserves to be recognized among the betting favorites because of his historic number of steals, Dyson Daniels more than likely will finish outside of the top 2 in voting.
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