Mavs' Daniel Gafford Details Playing Alongside 'Dynamic Scorers' Luka Doncic & Kyrie Irving

Daniel Gafford has only been with the Dallas Mavericks for a little more than two weeks, but he’s already “mesmerized” and “starstruck” by what Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are able to do on the court.

Dalton Trigg | Feb 23, 2024

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Dallas Mavericks

It’s only been a few weeks since Daniel Gafford was acquired by the Dallas Mavericks in a trade with the Washington Wizards, but it hasn’t taken the fifth-year big man long to realize just how special his new star teammates Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are.

"Just dynamic scorers,” Gafford told DallasBasketball.com when talking about playing alongside Doncic and Irving. “Just seeing some of the plays that Kyrie has finished, some of the plays that Luka has finished... Jesus Christ... you know? It's just like, man... at the end of the day, I'm in position to go rebound the ball, but I'm usually seeing the ball go through the net. ... Most of the time I just take off running because I know it's gonna go in, especially with some of the shots that Luka takes.”

Although Gafford says he’s been “mesmerized” and “starstruck” by some of the things Doncic and Irving are capable of doing in the court, he’s also not surprised, given that he sees them practicing those tough shots on off days.

“I see [Luka] practice those all the time. With just the times that we've had practices, the times we've had shootarounds, he practices each one of those shots that he takes,” Gafford said. “Kyrie practices each one of those layups that he takes. The one where he finished over Wemby? He practices that. Seeing something like that, I just know it's something they do on a consistent basis, because they work on it.

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“Seeing it in real time ... it's mesmerizing. I'm like starstruck every time they make something."

Gafford has fit in well during his first four games with the Mavs, averaging 12.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and helping the team win all four of those contests. With two years left in his contract after this one, he’ll have plenty of time to continue being wowed by Doncic and Irving going forward.

Published Feb 23, 2024

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.