The injury bug bit the Atlanta Hawks early this season. Trae Young is set to miss at least one month with a sprained MCL in his right knee. He suffered the injury on Oct. 29 against the Brooklyn Nets, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker has joined the starting five since the incident.
Atlanta had big plans in the 2025-26 campaign after a busy offseason, acquiring Alexander-Walker, Kristaps Porziņģis, and Luke Kennard. Now, they, as well as the rest of the staters, must carry a bigger offensive load without Young. The injury undoubtedly lowers Atlanta’s ceiling, but it also opens the door for players who started slow to find their rhythm, like Dyson Daniels.
Dyson Daniels Finds His Finishing Touch After a Rough Start
Daniels took every advantage of his first starting NBA role last season. He put up career highs of 14.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Atlanta’s lockdown defender took home Most Improved Player and a First Team All-Defense selection, as well as a runner-up finish in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He did not enjoy similar success to start this season.
Daniels averaged 9.0 points, 3.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds over the first seven games of the 2025-26 campaign. He shot 45.0% from the field and made one of his four 3-pointers. Atlanta’s guard also converted just five of his 14 floaters. Last season, Daniels heavily relied on his spin move and floater combination in the paint. Over the first five games, Daniels hesitated after getting past perimeter defenders, on top of struggling to finish inside.
However, in the three games since Young sprained his MCL, Daniels found a rhythm. He scored 18 points in three straight games and found the range on his floater. He looks confident when driving to the paint. In the Hawks’ 127-112 win over the Orlando Magic, Daniels executed his signature spin on Wendell Carter Jr. He shot 8-9 from the field in the contest.
Dyson lost him in the Australian spin cycle 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/HozcQRjrpo
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 5, 2025
Daniels Responds Well to a Larger Role with Hawks
Daniels has the ball in his hands more following Young’s injury. After the game against Orlando, head coach Quin Snyder expressed confidence in Daniels’ ability to bring the ball up and orchestrate the offense. “We trust Dyson in those situations, particularly when he gets rebounds and runs,” said Snyder.
Daniels executed this fabulous pass on an aggressive drive along the baseline.
Dyson Daniels picking up a thing or two from Trae Young pic.twitter.com/q36NK4YWyf
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) November 5, 2025
Atlanta’s guard certainly found his shot at the right time. It coincides with a significant increase in usage since Young’s MCL sprain. Daniels holds usage numbers of 16.8%, 18.3%, and 16.2% in the last three games. In the previous five games, he only reached 15% usage once.
The Hawks saw Daniels respond positively to more offensive responsibility last season when Jalen Johnson went down with a season-ending torn labrum. His usage went from 16.8% in the first three months to 18.6% in the 2025 portion of the campaign. They are counting on him once again to be more efficient and aggressive in their four-time All-Star’s absence.
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