Growth mindset: Dash leaves United with upside intact

• ‍Case FOR Dash staying two seasons as NBL Next Star ‍
• Dash Daniels: 'What I've learned from my brother'‍
• NBL Next Stars send global NBA message

NBL Next Star Dash Daniels won gold with the Australian Boomers at the 2025 Asia Cup, turned 18 three months into NBL26, earned an Australian Boomers call-up for the 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup Asia Qualifiers and played for the Next Stars at Eurocamp 2026.

But he and Melbourne United parted ways earlier this week in an amicable, press-release-led breakup.

Speculation mounts that Daniels, the younger brother of Atlanta Hawks star Dyson, will sign with the South East Melbourne Phoenix for NBL27.

“I have nothing but respect for Melbourne United. It's a highly professional organisation from top to bottom, and I've valued every part of my journey with the club,” Daniels said.

“I'm excited for what's ahead, but I'll always look back on my time with Melbourne United with amazing memories and true appreciation.”

He was a projected Top 10 2026 NBA Draft pick in late June 2025, but he withdrew in April after his stock slipped into the second round.

Daniels, who is one of Australia’s rising stars and is firmly in the frame for the 2032 Olympic Games, will be just the second NBL Next Star to play for two teams after Mojave King (Cairns Taipans NBL21 and Adelaide 36ers NBL22).

United’s NBL26 roster was deep despite Defensive Player of the Year Shea Ili playing just 12 games. Daniels, who was awarded the Best Defender at Eurocamp 2026, averaged 14.2 minutes per game, 4.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists, shooting 41.6% from the field and 36% from three-point range. But those statistics only tell part of the story.

This chart – in an age of analytics – tells the rest of the Daniels’ United story.

His underlying efficiency was strongest in the opening month of his rookie campaign before settling into a lower, more inconsistent level across the remainder of the season. The flashes remained, but the data suggests sustained improvement never fully materialised.

Daniels' minutes remained relatively constant throughout his rookie campaign, even with Ili out of the line-up, but his game-to-game efficiency never established the sustained upward trajectory.

His flashes were outstanding, but they were interspersed with quieter performances, leaving Melbourne with a player whose long-term upside remained obvious but whose game-to-game production was still developing.

Daniels’ average efficiency in NBL26 was 10.9 per game, but in his last 10 games he slipped to 8.9.

United were the hottest team in the league to start NBL26, but the wheels fell off after the first FIBA Break, in which former United head coach Dean Vickerman coached the Australian Boomers. United were 13-2 before the break and went 7-11 after it.

Vickerman was bullish about Daniels when he signed as the club’s Next Star in January, 2025, joining the squad as a training player in NBL25.

"He absolutely belongs on an NBL floor right now,” Vickerman said.

"He can go out there and defend and go by people; he’s going to be a good impact player in the NBL. Hopefully he’s a great impact player in the NBL.

"We’ll take our time and go slowly with it, teach him our system but really quality basketball of play that we’ve seen so far."

It would be irresponsible not to put Daniels’ first season into context – an 18-year-old competing against seasoned professionals. He started with a bang, dropping 14 points on the New Zealand Breakers in Round 1, was second in three-point percentage for United, and had 11 points and six boards against the New Orleans Pelicans in an NBA exhibition game in October.

"Following discussions with all parties, we believe this is the best path forward for everyone involved," GM of Next Stars Recruitment Liam Santamaria said of Daniels’ United exit.

"We would like to thank Melbourne United for supporting Dash's development over the past 18 months. They are a first-class organisation with a strong track record in player development.

"Dash has grown significantly during his time with Melbourne and, thanks largely to that great work, I'm confident he is well placed for a strong second season as a Next Star.

“We thank Melbourne United for the role they have played in his development and are excited about what's ahead for Dash this season.”

Daniels’ NBL26 Box Score

“Melbourne United would like to thank Dash and the Daniels family for their contributions to the club across the past 18 months,” said United CEO Nick Truelson.

“Dash’s time with United was the result of a fantastic commitment from the club and the Daniels family across multiple years to best prepare the guard for his ultimate goal of making it to the NBA.

“Dash regularly showcased his growing skillset at both ends of the floor, which is a testament to his readiness to contribute at the senior level, and the strength of the Next Star program.

“The club wishes Dash, along with his parents Ricky and Brikitta, and brothers Dyson and Kai, all the best moving forward.”

Daniels turns 19 on December 18 and has another big year ahead of him. It’s unlikely he’ll force his way into the Australian Boomers 12-man team for the 2027 FIBA World Cup given the NBA-level depth head coach Adam Caporn has at his disposal.

But the NBL Next Stars program not only has a reputation for being one of the best talent-identification pathways in the world, but it delivers NBA draft picks.

Mexican Karim Lopez and American Malique Lewis were the 15th and 16th Next Stars taken in the NBA Draft last month.

Daniels has time.

How Efficiency was calculated

Efficiency is a traditional basketball metric that measures a player's overall box-score impact by rewarding positive contributions and penalising missed shots and turnovers.

The formula used was: Efficiency = Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks − Missed Field Goals − Missed Free Throws − Turnovers

Where:

• Missed Field Goals = Field Goal Attempts − Field Goals Made
• Missed Free Throws = Free Throw Attempts − Free Throws Made

To allow fair comparison between games with different playing time, the figure was then converted to Efficiency per 36 minutes:

Efficiency per 36 = (Efficiency ÷ Minutes Played) × 36

Using a per-36 metric removes the effect of fluctuating minutes and provides a clearer indication of a player's productivity whenever he was on the court.

Note: Efficiency is a traditional box-score metric. It does not measure on-ball defence, screen setting, spacing, hockey assists or other contributions that don't appear in the official statistics.