Dyson Daniels

Dyson James Daniels was born March 17, 2003 in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. His father, Ricky, is from the United States and played college basketball at NC State before going pro, becoming a two-time South East Australian Basketball League MVP with the Bendigo Braves. Daniels' older brother, Kai, played college basketball at Regis University. Dyson Daniels began playing basketball at seven years old. In addition to basketball, Daniels was also a talented Australian rules footballer and represented his home state of Victoria in several national football championships before focusing on basketball. In 2018, he represented Australia in the 2018 FIBA Oceania U15 Championship and helped his team win the gold medal behind 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. For the 2019 season, he signed with his father's former team, the Braves. He also joined the NBA Global Academy, a training center at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. In 2021, during the FIBA U19 World Cup, Daniels averaged 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.3 steals in 27 minutes per game. That year, he also made his senior team debut at the FIBA Asia Cup qualification and recorded 23 points, six steals and four assists in a win over New Zealand. Also in 2021, Daniels signed with the NBA G League Ignite. Starting all 14 of his appearances, he averaged 11.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.9 steals in 31.2 minutes. He also competed in the Rising Stars Challenge at the 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend. In the summer of 2022, the New Orleans Pelicans drafted Daniels with the eight overall pick.