Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels has dismissed the idea that he pretended to spray gunfire at former teammates after making a three-pointer in front of the New Orleans bench during a 126-111 win over the Pelicans on Sunday night.
“I was just telling them all that it was worth 3 points,” Daniels explained, noting that when he extended his right arm toward the Pelicans’ bench, his thumb and two other fingers were up to show 3 points.
When he was told that his gesture looked like a gun, Daniels said, “It might have looked like it, but I was just telling them it was worth 3 points. You know, pointing at them all, that’s all it was. I was making sure they all knew how many points it was worth.”
The NBA has previously given out significant fines for gun gestures, including $35,000 to Josh Jackson in 2017 and $25,000 to Gerald Green in 2015.
Additionally, Ja Morant was suspended for 25 games in 2023 for showing an actual gun in a social media video. Some players on the Pelicans’ bench seemed to ask the officials to give Daniels a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I didn’t get one. So, the ref was right,” said Daniels, an Australian player who was the eighth overall pick by the Pelicans in the 2022 NBA Draft. “I was just out there having fun. I was hoping to hit a 3 in that corner so I could let the bench know about it. It was a game I had circled on my calendar.”
Daniels and Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. were traded last offseason from New Orleans to Atlanta in a deal that brought point guard Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans. Murray did not play on Sunday night because he is out for four to six weeks due to a broken hand he suffered during New Orleans’ first game of the regular season.
When asked if he thought the Pelicans who called for Daniels to receive a technical foul were joking, Nance laughed and replied, “You know what? No comment. I’m going to steer clear of that one.”
Nance, like Daniels, had some playful exchanges with the Pelicans bench, staring them down after a dunk in the third quarter and blowing them a kiss after making a corner three-pointer, also in front of New Orleans’ bench.
He mentioned that as he was getting ready to shoot from behind the three-point line, players from the Pelicans were shouting, “Hell, no!”
“One, we’re all competitors. And, two, we’re friends,” Nance explained. “You’re able to say some things to each other just because we know it’s all love.
“Everybody in that locker room I have nothing but love and admiration for,” Nance added. “Tonight was a lot of fun. I’m glad we won.”
Daniels finished the game with 16 points, marking his return after missing two games due to a right hip strain that he said was no longer an issue.
“Even if I wasn’t 100%, I was going to make sure I’d be back for this game,” Daniels said, adding that it was a difficult moment for him when he first found out New Orleans was trading him.
“It was unexpected. I came into the league here and this was home for me,” Daniels explained. “They drafted me. They believed in me. Everyone was great to me. But this is a business; these things happen. So, you’ve got to move on from it. I’m happy to be in Atlanta. I’m enjoying my opportunity there.”
Nance scored 14 points during Sunday’s game, which got heated at times and included a flagrant foul against Hawks guard Garrison Matthews for what looked like a hard forearm to the midsection of Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado.
“I don’t know what type of play that was,” Alvarado said, who was held back by teammates as he moved toward Matthews, shouting.
“I just wanted to ask him what was going on with that,” Alvarado continued. “It wasn’t really like being aggressive. It felt like it was a cheap shot. I don’t know why he did it.”
