Daniels was born in Bendigo, Victoria and started playing basketball at age seven.[1] He attended Bendigo South East College.[2]
Daniels signed with the Bendigo Braves, his father's former team, of the NBL1 for the 2019 season.[3] Later that year, Daniels joined the NBA Global Academy, a training center at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.[4] He helped Victoria win a silver medal at the 2021 Australian Under-20 Championships.[5] Along with basketball, Daniels was a talented Australian rules footballer in his younger years and represented his home state of Victoria at several national football championships[6] before giving up the sport to focus solely on basketball.
Daniels was selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.[10] Daniels joined the Pelicans' 2022 NBA Summer League roster. However, Daniels suffered a right-ankle sprain in the second quarter in the Pelicans' Summer League opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, forcing Daniels to be ruled as out for the rest of the Summer League.[11] On 9 July 2022, Daniels signed a rookie scale contract with the Pelicans.[12]
Daniels represented Australia at the 2018 FIBA Oceania Under-15 Championship in Papua New Guinea. He averaged 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal.[14] On 20 February 2021, a 17-year-old Daniels made his debut for the Australian senior national team at FIBA Asia Cup qualification.[15] He recorded 23 points, six steals, and four assists in an 81–52 win over New Zealand.[16] He helped Australia to beat France in a preparation game for the 2024 Olympic Games, scoring a reverse layup on the buzzer to win the game.