Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young believes his teammate Dyson Daniels should win the 2024-2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year over Warriors forward Draymond Green.
Young shared his thoughts on why Daniels is more deserving of the annual award given to the league's best defensive player.
“Obviously, Dyson for Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved too, he should get those two awards,” Young told NBA insider Chris Haynes. “He’s been playing great this year. I think Draymond is in the running right now. I love Dray to death, but he’s not Dyson this year as far as what he’s been doing on defense. On the ball every game, he’s getting three, four, five steals. Just picking them by himself, no help.
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SIGN UP HERE "He’s doing stuff that no guard, no defender has ever done before.”
Atlanta Hawks star @TheTraeYoung says ROY, DPOY and MIP belong to two players, and that's Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels: "I love Draymond Green to death, but he's not Dyson as far as what he's doing on defense." #haynesbriefs
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 11, 2025
Full EP: https://t.co/m2XYkAdjTB pic.twitter.com/L1ivdWKHIv
Daniels emerged as a revelation on defense, with 226 steals this season, the most since Gary Payton had 231 in 1995-96. His stalwart play is one of the main reasons the Hawks are in contention for a postseason spot.
Green has powered the Warriors’ defense this season, with plenty of lockdown performances in arguably his best year since 2017, when he won his first DPOY award. Still, he has struggled with consistency throughout the season, particularly when he’s forced to guard larger players around the rim.
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With Golden State and Atlanta still in the hunt for playoff positioning over the final two regular-season games, expect both Green and Daniels to put forth their best defensive efforts.