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Daniel Gafford

Dallas Mavericks · #21 · Plus starter
C6'10"265 lbage 277 yrs expArkansasEl Dorado, AR
3rd best of 12 on DALworth +2.9 wins to the rotation
OFF73DEF80
High-level interior finisher & perimeter defender
DAL
Dallas Mavericks
Western · Southwest · proj. 40-42 (▲+3.4)
→

A high-energy lob-finisher and elite rim protector who does his damage in a tight, two-foot-radius around the basket. He shot a blistering 65.5% from the field on 67.7% true shooting, blocked 1.3 a night, cleaned up the glass (92nd-percentile rebounding) and drew a ton of fouls — but he won't space the floor (didn't take a three) or pass (7th-percentile playmaking). A perfect vertical-spacing roll man.

9.5
PPG
6.9
RPG
1.1
APG
0.8
SPG
1.3
BPG
GP 55MPG 21.7FG% 65.53P% —FT% 68.3TS% 67.7USG% 15.8PER 18.8BPM +0.7VORP 0.8EPM +1.8
2025-26 regular season · bars are percentile at his position

NBA player ratings

0–99 · 2025-26 form
Inside finishing89
Perimeter defense87
Rim protection86
Scoring80
Rebounding79
Shooting66
Playmaking58

Skill ratings are 2025-26 per-game and advanced stats (Basketball-Reference) ranked 0–99 within position (guards vs guards, bigs vs bigs). Overall is anchored to EPM impact on a non-linear curve, nudged by these skills; Offense and Defense come from box plus-minus. A player who missed the latest season is shown from his most recent one.

Career

2019-20 to 2025-26 · 7 seasons
9.3
PPG
5.8
RPG
1.1
APG
433
GAMES
Points 4,021Win Shares 35.2Starts 259Best season 2023-24 · 11.0 ppg
Games played, last three seasons76%

Regular season, 2003-04 onward (Basketball-Reference). Averages are weighted by games played; honours count awards won, not finishes. “Current players” means the 802 who played in the last three seasons.

Trajectory

2023-24 → 2025-26 · age 25 → 27
▼Declining

Daniel, at 27, is trending downward — 5.1 → 2.7 wins of value over the window.

Age curve▼ Behind curve
Developing slower than his age would suggest.
2026-27 forecast▲ 5.5 wins (+2.9)
Assumes a normal season; he played 55 games last year. Range 4.3–6.7 wins.
Production (BPM)+2.6 → +0.7-1.926-27 forecast +2.1
His on-court production has slipped.
2023-24: +2.6 · 74 games2024-25: +3.8 · 57 games2025-26: +0.7 · 55 games2026-27: +2.1 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Value to team (wins)5.1 → 2.7-2.426-27 forecast 5.5
His win contribution is trending down.
2023-24: 5.1 · 74 games2024-25: 4.5 · 57 games2025-26: 2.7 · 55 games2026-27: 5.5 (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Contract value2026-27: worth $21.2M vs $17.3M salary+$3.9M
He is paid about what his play is projected to be worth.
$17.3M salary2023-24: $17.5M · 74 games2024-25: $12.8M · 57 games2025-26: $5.9M · 55 games2026-27: $21.2M (forecast)23-2425-2626-27
Current deal: $17,263,584 cap hit · through '29. On the contract row the flat dashed line is this salary, so the gap to the 2026-27 forecast is the surplus.

Seasons from Basketball-Reference (2023-24 → 2025-26). Production is box plus-minus, a per-possession measure. Value is VORP-based wins, so it also counts games played. Contract value is what each season’s play would fetch on the open market. The dotted 2026-27 point is a forecast: his established level, a year older, assuming a normal season.

Contract

2026-27
$17,263,584Guaranteed
9% of the club’s payroll · 4th of 14 priced deals
Runs through3 seasons
Est. market value$21,152,000 /yr
Surplus+$3,888,416
FAIR VALUEpaid about what he is worth

Market value is an estimate, not a reported figure: what his play is forecast to fetch on the open market in 2026-27 — his current rating, a year older. Cap thresholds are projected for 2026-27 until the league sets them.

Plays like

same position

Nearest skill profiles across the seven rating axes — who he plays like, not who is as good. The rating beside each name answers that second question.