For his first two NBA seasons, Dyson Daniels was fighting just to get minutes off the bench in a crowded New Orleans guard rotation. He was improving, but not getting a chance to show off that growth.
Then this summer he was traded to Atlanta as part of the Dejounte Murray deal. Atlanta was starved for quality two-way wings and gave Daniels a legitimate chance — and he thrived.
He averaged 14.1 points and 5.9 rebounds a game while playing elite defense, finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Daniels improved his scoring by +8.