Dyson James Daniels (born 17 March 2003) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). He was drafted eighth overall in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

Early life and career

Daniels was born in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, Victoria and started playing basketball at age seven. He signed with the

Bendigo Braves Bendigo Braves is a NBL1 South club based in Bendigo, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of the overarching Bendigo Braves Basketball Club, the major administrative basketball organi ...

, his father's former team, of the

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

for the 2019 season. Later that year, Daniels joined the

NBA Global Academy The NBA Academy is a basketball development initiative created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) that develops top international high school-age prospects. The program includes academies across India, Australia (known as the Global Acad ...

, a training center at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. He helped Victoria win a silver medal at the 2021 Australian Under-20 Championships. Along with basketball, Daniels was a talented

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er in his younger years and represented his home state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at several national football championships before giving up the sport to focus solely on basketball.

Professional career

NBA G League Ignite (2021–22)

On 21 June 2021, Daniels signed with the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite is a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Based in Henderson, Nevada, the team was designed to play exhibition games outside the G League's traditional scheduling as part of a one-year development program for e ...

, a developmental team affiliated with the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He turned down offers from several college programs and the National Basketball League Next Stars program. Daniels competed in the

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- and ...

2022 NBA All-Star Weekend The 2022 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition game played on February 20, 2022, during the National Basketball Association's 2021–22 NBA season, 2021–22 season. It was the 71st edition of the NBA All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Clevel ...

and helped his team win the title. In 26 games in the G League, he averaged 12 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and two steals per game. On 16 April 2022, Daniels declared for the

New Orleans Pelicans (2022–present)

Daniels was selected with the eighth overall pick in the

2022 NBA Draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

by the

. Daniels joined the Pelicans'

2022 NBA Summer League The 2022 NBA Summer League, also branded as the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus ...

roster. However, Daniels suffered a right-ankle sprain in the second quarter in the Pelicans' Summer League opener against the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

, forcing Daniels to be ruled as out for the rest of the Summer League. On July 9, 2022, Daniels signed a rookie scale contract with the Pelicans.

National team career

Daniels represented Australia at the 2018

FIBA Oceania The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

Under-15 Championship in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal. On 20 February 2021, a 17-year-old Daniels made his debut for the Australian senior national team at

FIBA Asia Cup qualification The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

. He recorded 23 points, six steals, and four assists in an 81–52 win over

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Personal life

Daniels' dad, Ricky Daniels, is from the United States and played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

before embarking on a professional career. He was a two-time

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was an Australian semi-professional basketball league. The league comprised both a men's and women's competition and was run by the country's governing body, Basketball Australia. The league wa ...

MVP with the

, and his number was retired by the team. Daniels' older brother, Kai, plays college basketball at

Regis University Regis University is a private Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1877 by the Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees through 5 colleges in a variety of subjects, including education, liberal arts, business, nu ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Dyson 2003 births Living people 21st-century Australian people Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian men's basketball players Australian people of African-American descent National Basketball Association players from Australia NBA G League Ignite players New Orleans Pelicans draft picks New Orleans Pelicans players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Bendigo