Daniel Gafford is two baskets away from tying Wilt Chamberlain's record for consecutive made baskets. Wednesday night, he proved he could deny shots as well as he makes them.
Daniel Gafford sent it into the SEATS
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 14, 2024
pic.twitter.com/92WHRYypcz
Gafford tied a team record by blocking four shots in the second quarter of the Mavericks' 109-99 win over the Warriors, and finished the game with seven blocks. He also finished the game shooting 5-for-5, the fifth consecutive game that he's made every single one of his shots.
He's now made 33 straight shots, second only to Wilt Chamberlain in NBA history. Chamberlain made 35 straight in Feb. 1967. In general, any time you hear about an improbable NBA accomplishment, chances are it was done by Wilt.
Daniel Gafford is now three field goals away from breaking Wilt's record for consecutive field goals without a miss (35) pic.twitter.com/iYDFtKG4SE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 14, 2024
Gafford may not be the same offensive threat as Chamberlain was, but he's developed some excellent chemistry with Luka Doncic since Dallas acquired Gafford from the Washington Wizards a month ago. As a Maverick, Gafford has shot 64-of-82, with all of his makes coming within five feet of the basket. 29 of those shots were assisted by Doncic.
33-straight made s pic.twitter.com/i9J8IOOC14
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) March 14, 2024
If the shots are this easy, no wonder he doesn't miss.
After Wednesday, Gafford has 28 blocks in 14 games as a Maverick. That means he's blocked 10 more shots than he's missed, which is very good. They didn't track blocks back in Chamberlain's era, but he probably did that at some point, too.
Whether he breaks Chamberlain's record or not, trading for Gafford has been anything but a miss for the Mavericks.
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