Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has been racking up steals at a prolific rate in his first year with Atlanta.
When one aspect of your game is strong enough to earn you a nickname, you know you’re among the elite. Australian-born Dyson Daniels picked up the moniker “The Great Barrier Thief” earlier this season—and he’s been living up to it ever since.
Daniels has been racking up steals at a prolific rate in his first year with Atlanta. His 3.0 steals per game lead the league by a wide margin, sitting 1.2 ahead of the next closest player. His season total of 194 is 77 more than Kia MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who ranks second in the category.
With 13 regular-season games remaining for the Hawks, Daniels is on pace to finish with 233 steals, which would tie him for 16th all-time in the NBA’s single-season record books. For context, Alvin Robertson holds the record with 301 steals in the 1985-86 season, while Don Buse holds the ABA record of 346 set in 1975-76.
Only two players have recorded more than 200 steals in a season this century — Allen Iverson (225 in 2002-03) and Chris Paul (217 in 2007-08, 216 in 2008-09). If Daniels maintains his pace and reaches 233, he’ll surpass both, making John Stockton’s 244-steal season (1991-92) the most recent with a higher total—a mark set 33 years ago. No player has averaged as many steals per game as Daniels since Robertson in 1990-91 (3.04).
There’s no reason to believe the 22-year-old’s production is a fluke. After coming stateside to play for the G-League Ignite in 2021-22, he averaged 2.0 steals per game and built a reputation as one of the best perimeter defenders in the 2022 NBA Draft, with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and quick hands to disrupt passing lanes. His sophomore season in New Orleans further hinted at his potential—he averaged 1.4 steals in just 22.3 minutes per game, which extrapolates to 2.3 per 36 minutes. This season, that number has jumped to 3.2 per 36.
Daniels may not break the NBA steals record this season, but he’s delivering one of the most dominant defensive performances in recent history—setting a new standard for perimeter defense in the modern NBA.
See how many steals Daniels can rack up when the Hawks host the Warriors on Saturday (7 ET, NBA TV).
