Latest news with #KiaNBAMostImprovedPlayerAward
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Aussie Dyson Daniels wins major NBA individual award after breakout season
He may have missed out on Defensive Player of the Year, but Dyson Daniels could not be denied for his all-round improvement in his first season at the Atlanta Hawks. The Australian was announced as the recipient of the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year award on Thursday, beating out Clippers big man Ivica Zubac and Pistons former first overall pick Cade Cunningham for the honour. Daniels won the award in a landslide, collecting 44 of 100 possible first-place votes while 36 other voters had him second and four had him third for a total of 332 points. Zubac finished second in voting with a total of 186 points with Cunningham third (122). It follows a breakout third season in the NBA, where Daniels made the most of his fresh start in Atlanta with career-high numbers across the board (14.1 points, 5.9 assists, 4.4 assists, 3.0 steals, 0.7 blocks). A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award. The complete voting results ⬇ï¸� — NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 30, 2025 Speaking to NBA on TNT after winning the award, Daniels said he felt like he 'took a backseat' role in New Orleans and thrived with a 'fresh start' in Atlanta, while adding that this season was 'just a small step in the right direction'. 'Obviously this is my third year in the league and my first two being in New Orleans, I feel like I kind of went in there and I wasn't myself,' Daniels said. 'I feel like I kind of took a backseat role so I came into this third year wanting to really put my foot down and show what I could do. 'I wasn't happy with how I performed and going to Atlanta I got the opportunity to have a fresh start, get that starting two guard spot in a really good team. 'I think it's just coming in with the right mindset, working hard in the offseason, having a good Olympic campaign and coming in and going out there and being aggressive, being myself and not caring about making mistakes. I think that was the main thing this year, I've got trust in my coaches and teammates. I was able to go out there and be myself.' Daniels was already one of the league's best perimeter defenders before being traded to the Hawks, but the increased minutes in Atlanta gave the Bendigo bandit an opportunity to really put his mix of physicality, discipline and instincts on full display. It was the offensive end, however, where Daniels showed the most growth. He had previously seen his minutes shrink in the postseason during his time at New Orleans, where Daniels' development was stunted playing behind a plethora of ball-dominant options. But Daniels gave Hawks fans a glimpse of his promising two-way potential at the Paris Olympics, where he was a standout in the backcourt alongside Chicago Bulls guard and good friend Josh Giddey. The 21-year-old's form in Paris transferred to Atlanta, where Daniels proved the perfect foil for new running mate Trae Young, helping cover up for some of his defensive deficiencies while benefiting from the attention Young commanded both with and without the ball in hand. Daniels also spoke extensively about the confidence new coach Quin Snyder gave him, something which wasn't always there in New Orleans under Willie Green according to father Ricky. 'He's always been a confident kid. I believe that was rocked a little bit at New Orleans… the coach probably didn't have as much confidence in him as he probably should have,' Ricky told earlier in the year. Daniels, meanwhile, told he was playing more 'free' with the Hawks. 'He just said he wants me to go out there and play confident,' said Daniels, recalling his first meeting with Snyder after visiting the Hawks facilities. 'He's seen in me what I could do, the impact I could have on the game, so he was out there just telling me he wants me to play free, play confident, shoot my shots, get downhill and kind of like help Trae out a little bit and that's from day one. 'When you hear that from your coach, it really does give you confidence. I think I've just taken that and gone out there and played free.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA Makes Major Cade Cunningham Announcement During Playoffs
The Detroit Pistons did not have the start to the playoffs that they hoped for on Saturday in Game 1 of the first round against the New York Knicks. Detroit had a great start to the game as they were able to keep pace with New York throughout the first half, trailing the Knicks by two at halftime. Advertisement The Pistons then caught fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Knicks by 10 points to take an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. New York then came racing back in the fourth quarter as they went on a 21-0 run and outscored Detroit by 19 points to capture the Game 1 victory 123-112. This was a disappointing result for the Pistons and they will now look to bounce back in Game 2 on Monday. In between Games 1 and 2, the NBA made a massive announcement regarding Pistons superstar point guard Cade Cunningham. The NBA announced that Cunningham has been named as a finalist for the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Award. Cunningham is joined by Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks and Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers as finalists for the MIP award. Advertisement Of course, Cunningham had a breakout season this year as he led the Pistons to their first playoff appearance since the 2018-19 season. This season, the 23-year-old guard averaged 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 46.9% from the field and 35.6% from three-point range. © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images While Cunningham did have an incredible season, he and the NBA have drawn a ton of criticism for him being nominated for the MIP award since he is a former first overall draft pick. Despite this, the star guard put together the best season of his career and he played a massive role in helping the Pistons break their playoff drought. The NBA MIP award will be announced at some point over the next couple of weeks during the playoffs along with the other awards and the selections for the All-NBA, All-Defense and All-Rookie teams.
