Aussies Abroad: Daniels in mix for illustrious honour

Australian young gun Dyson Daniels has been named one of three finalists for the NBA's defensive player of the year award and also made the shortlist for the league's most improved.

Nicknamed The Great Barrier Thief for his uncanny ability to secure possession with steals, 22-year-old Atlanta Hawks star Daniels was chosen alongside Draymond Green (Golden State) and Cleveland's Evan Mobley.

It is recognition after Daniels' superb third NBA season, blossoming following an off-season trade from the New Orleans Pelicans to become mainstay for the Hawks and frequently getting the toughest defensive assignment.

He averaging a league-leading 3.0 steals a game - 229 in all - along with 13.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 0.7 blocks in his 77 regular season games.

Sports Illustrated.com reports that Daniels became the first player in the 21st century to record 225-plus steals in a regular season, with the 98-steal gap between himself and next-best Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the largest between No.1 and No.2 in NBA history, according to Elias Sports.

He also tallied 443 total deflections, the most in a single season since the league began tracking the stat, and recovered 79 loose balls - the second-most for the season.

Of his fellow contenders, Warriors veteran Green is seeking his second DPOY award after winning it in 2016-17 while Cavaliers star Mobley has the gift of being able to defend the rim with physicality but not foul.

Among those to miss out from the shortlist were Minnesota's Rudy Gobert who remains on four DPOY awards, tied with Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as winners of the most.

San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama - who won the blocked-shots title this season - probably would have won the award in a runaway had he not been sidelined since the All-Star break with deep vein thrombosis in one of his shoulders.

A panel of writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA voted on the awards last week. The NBA will announce the winners of the various awards, along with the All-NBA and All-rookie teams, over the coming weeks.

As well as defensive plaudits, Daniels is in the running for the most improved player along with Detroit's Cade Cunningham and Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver's Nikola Jokic are contending for the MVP award.

Jokic was last season's MVP and is bidding for his fourth MVP award in the last five years.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's scoring champion this season and the leader of a Thunder team that won 68 games while setting a league record for scoring margin, is seeking his first MVP trophy.

In the other categories the finalists are:-

Coach of the year: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland; J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit; Ime Udoka, Houston.

Rookie of the year: Stephon Castle, San Antonio; Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta; Jaylen Wells, Memphis.

Sixth man of the year: Malik Beasley, Detroit; Ty Jerome, Cleveland; Payton Pritchard, Boston.

Most Improved Player: Cade Cunningham, Detroit; Dyson Daniels, Atlanta; Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Clippers.

Clutch player of the year: Jalen Brunson, New York; Anthony Edwards, Minnesota; Nikola Jokic, Denver.