Coaches in the NBA talk about it all the time. Hustle plays win you a championship. The more hustle plays you win in a game, the higher your chances of winning are. Right now, there is nobody better at hustle plays than Dyson Daniels. The Atlanta Hawks guard broke the single-season record for most deflections.
Dyson Daniels is the Best Hustle Player in the NBA
In the last game against the Detroit Pistons, Dyson Daniels had five deflections, bringing his total number to 316 for the season. The previous record for most hustle plays in a single season was 315 Robert Covington during the 2017-18 season. With 25 games left to play in the season, Dyson is already at 316. He averages 6.1 per game, and can very well get over 400 by the end of the season.
Are Deflections Important?
The NBA began tracking hustle stats in 2016 to highlight the effort plays that impact the game. These statistics do not show up in a traditional, everyday box score. But as most coaches in the league say, they lead to wins. Since 2016, the NBA has been tracking taking charges, recovering 50-50 balls, boxing out, contesting shots, setting great screens, and deflecting passes.
The league defines deflections as “any time a defensive player gets his hand on a ball in a non-shot attempt.” They are among the best indicators of effort in a game. Hustle players that get plenty of deflections get in the habit of being hard to play against. It is contagious.
For many years, NBA teams and scouts have tracked deflections as their way of seeing the full impact of a defensive player. Here is a simple comparison. Not every shot at the basket needs to result in a block for a player to be considered a strong rim protector. In that same spirit, not every deflection needs to result in a steal to influence a defensive possession. When a defender deflects a pass, the flow of the possessions is thrown off. Some offenses recover better, but a single deflection can make scoring that much more difficult.
Dyson Daniels, a Dark Horse DPOY Candidate
If you look at Daniels’ defensive impact, including steals and deflections, he can be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Sadly, the Atlanta Hawks do not have a strong defense. They are 16th in the league in defensive rating.
Without Daniels, they might not be in the top 20 to be fair. Think about this for a second. He averages three steals per game, almost double more than the second player on that list. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 1.9 per game, and Tyrese Maxey gets 1.8 steals per game. To put that in perspective, Daniels has almost as many steals, as SGA and Maxey combined. He has 156 for the season, while SGA has 104 and Maxey has 87.
Looking back at deflection numbers, Daniels has 316 for the season, while the second player on that list, Kelly Oubre Jr., has only 219. That shows how much more effort Daniels puts on the defensive end. Whether he wins the DPOY award or not, the Hawks have a bright star to build upon. Daniels is the perfect complimentary player to any star the Hawks get. Whether the Hawks will build with Trae Young or not, is a question for the summer.
Photo credit: © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
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