Dyson has a dream: Hawks v Bulls in Australia

• Dyson Daniels wants the NBA to capitalise on the New Orleans Pelicans historic visit to Australia in October, 2025
• Daniels won the 2025 NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year Award
• Daniels was a finalist in the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Award — but was snubbed!

Dyson Daniels dreams of playing against Josh Giddey in Melbourne — not in the NBA off-season as "fill-ins — but for his Atlanta Hawks against the Chicago Bulls, Code Sports Basketball reports.

"I think Australia deserves it because they’ve done some (NBA games) in Mexico, in Europe, so Australia is probably the next biggest market," he said.

“To make the effort to come, 16 hours on a plane, it’s special and it just shows that Australian sport is trending in the right direction.’’

Daniels, the 2025 Most Improved Player of the Year, wanted the NBA and NBL to capitalise in the historic first visit of the New Orleans Pelicans set to play two exhibition games at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena against NBL club’s South East Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne United, on October 3 and 5, 2025.

Read the full story at Code Sports Basketball

The Bendigo-born Australian Boomer revelation comes as the NBL and EuroLeague revealed Sydney Kings' new star-studded backcourt of Matthew Dellavedova and Kendric Davis will face a baptism of fire with the Harbour City club taking on Panathinaikos BC AKTOR and KK Partizan and Adelaide 36ers in the Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament between September 18 and September 22, 2025 in Melbourne and Sydney.

Daniels, 22, won the MIP after polling 332 votes, 146 more than Los Angeles Clippers Ivica Zubac centre with 186.

He earned 44 first-placed votes, 36 second-place votes and four third-placed votes. Giddey, 22, finished 10th with 13 votes.

Daniels had the most steals — 229 — this Millennium and  finished equal 20th for steals in a single season but was snubbed for the 2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He tied Johnny Moore's mark in the 1984-85 season.

Daniels, who just turned 22, is the first player since Scottie Pippen 30 YEARS AGO to have 200+ steals and 50 blocks in a single NBA season.

He had 229 steals in 76 games for the 40-42 Atlanta Hawks.