Daniel GaffordDallas Mavericks · #21
Daniel Gafford is a 6-foot-10 Dallas Mavericks center and elite lob-finishing rim protector who shoots roughly 70% for his career, reached the 2024 NBA Finals with Dallas, and once made 33 consecutive field goals — the second-longest such streak in NBA history.
Daniel Gafford — the report card
Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.
Where Daniel Gafford stands
Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.
Daniel Gafford — every number, three levels deep
Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.
How the model sees Daniel Gafford
Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.
Daniel Gafford career stats, season by season
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 43 | 14.2 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 0.5 | .701 | .000 |
| 2020-21 | 31 | 12.4 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 0.5 | .690 | .000 |
| 2021-22 | 72 | 20.1 | 9.4 | 5.7 | 0.9 | .693 | .000 |
| 2022-23 | 78 | 20.6 | 9.0 | 5.6 | 1.1 | .732 | .000 |
| 2023-24 | 45 | 26.5 | 10.9 | 8.0 | 1.5 | .690 | .000 |
| 2024-25 | 57 | 21.5 | 12.3 | 6.8 | 1.4 | .702 | .000 |
| 2025-26 | 55 | 21.7 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 1.1 | .655 | .000 |
| Career | 381 | 20.1 | 9.1 | 5.7 | 1.0 |
The Lab
Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.
Are the Dallas Mavericks built to win?
Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.
The Ballad of Daniel Gafford
Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.
The beginning
A rim-running, shot-blocking center out of Arkansas, Daniel Gafford turned a second-round pedigree into one of the NBA's most efficient interior finishers and a Finals-level lob threat in Dallas.
Turning pro
Drafted 2019 Round 2, Pick 38 (Chicago Bulls) as a Center.
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Daniel Gafford is proof that a rim-runner who knows his job can matter deep into June.
Chapter
A 38th pick out of Arkansas, he barely played in Chicago before a trade to Washington turned him into a full-time rotation center.
Chapter
Dallas landed him at the 2024 deadline, and he shot 78% down the stretch as a lob threat next to Luka Dončić on the way to the NBA Finals.
Off the court
- Height
- 6' 10"
- Weight
- 265 lbs
- College
- Arkansas
- Experience
- 7th Season
- NBA debut
- 2019
- Draft
- 2019 Round 2, Pick 38 (Chicago Bulls)
- Born
- El Dorado, Arkansas
- Age
- 28
- Jersey
- #21
Gafford is an avid anime fan — Black Clover in particular — with anime-inspired tattoos and a dog named after the character Mereoleona Vermillion.
His game is built on relentless energy and rim-running rather than flash, a reflection of a player who maximized a second-round opportunity through effort and efficiency.
High-motor, efficient and unselfish, Gafford knows exactly what he is — a rim-runner and protector — and does it at an elite level.
Daniel Gafford — frequently asked
The questions people ask most about Daniel Gafford, answered.
