Brothers in arms: Dash's Olympic dream

Melbourne United's Dash Daniels has already achieved numerous accomplishments in his decorated young career.

But the guard still has plenty of goals he wants to achieve in his hoops journey.

The Next Star, first and foremost, wants to follow in the NBA footsteps of his brother Dyson, who plays with the Atlanta Hawks.

The 17-year-old, who is currently with the Australian Boomers squad for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers against New Zealand, then wants to play at the Olympic Games.

In a recent interview with basketball.com.au's 'Cut to the Jase' program, the Bendigo explained how special it would be to pull on the green and gold alongside his older brother in Los Angeles for the 2028 Games.

"I haven't spoken to him [Dyson] about it, but I've definitely been thinking of it [playing for the Boomers alongside him]," Dash Daniels told basketball.com.au.

"Another dream of mine is to play with my brother at the Olympics and on the biggest stages in the world. It would be unreal to be able to have that [experience].

"Not many families get to have that opportunity, so it would be great to be able to do that with my brother."

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To achieve his goals, defensive star Daniels, who has played a key role off the bench during Melbourne's franchise-best 13-2 start to the Hungry Jack's NBL26 season, explained what parts of his game he's been concentrating on improving on during his rookie campaign.

"Coming to United, my shot wasn't at the level that I wanted it to be at and I'm still looking to improve it every single day," Daniels explained.

What he’s been doing defensively, though, should not be taken for granted. At just 17 years of age, Daniels has already established himself as one of the NBL’s best perimeter defenders.

“I love it. I love playing defence. I love guarding the best player on the other team,” the teenager said.

“I don’t like to be sitting on the sidelines and seeing those guys make shots and go off. So I always want to be the one guarding them and I think I can put up a good challenge every night.”

During the 2025-26 campaign, Daniels is averaging 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals, in just 16.5 minutes per game.

In the latest mock 2026 NBA Draft by ESPN's Jeremy Woo, Daniels, who is one of the top defenders his age in the world, is slated to be a first round selection.

Read the full story here >> Dash Daniels: 'What I've learned from my brother'