Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been named the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player, receiving the George Mikan Trophy after a breakout third season in the league.
Dyson Daniels is the 2024-25 Kia NBA Most Improved Player!
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
14.1 PPG
5.9 RPG
4.4 APG
3.0 SPG (NBA leader)#KiaMIP | @Kia pic.twitter.com/4jjDPuljoX
Daniels becomes the second player in Hawks history to win the award, joining Alan Henderson (1997-98). He edged out Ivica Zubac and Cade Cunningham in voting conducted by a global panel of 100 media members.
In his first season with Atlanta, the 22-year-old posted career highs across the board, averaging 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and a league-best 3.01 steals in 33.8 minutes per game. He also shot career-bests of 49.3% from the field and 34.0% from beyond the arc in 76 appearances.
Daniels became just the fifth player in NBA history to average at least 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 steals in a season, joining Michael Ray Richardson, Magic Johnson, Alvin Robertson, and Michael Jordan.
His year-over-year growth was historic: +8.3 points, +2.0 rebounds, +1.7 assists, and +1.62 steals per game — making him only the third player ever to achieve such improvement across all four categories, alongside Richardson and Eric Murdock.
Daniels also led the league in total steals (229), steals per game (3.01), deflections per game (5.8), and total deflections (443). His steals average was the highest in a season since Alvin Robertson in 1990-91, and his total steals were the most since Gary Payton in 1995-96.
Daniels finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earned Kia NBA Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month honors in both October/November and March.
The award recognizes Daniels' leap from a developing contributor to a two-way force — and a cornerstone of Atlanta’s future.
