Center Daniel Gafford is the latest listing on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury list. Gafford, 26, suffered a right knee sprain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks the Mavericks announced on Tuesday. Gafford’s injury is a huge blow to the short-handed Mavericks frontcourt, including injuries to Centers Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and Dwight Powell.
Gafford sustained a right knee sprain in Monday night’s 129-128 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings at the American Airlines Center. He left the game after playing for 10 minutes. His injury occurred at a bad time for the Mavericks, just a week after the team traded star Point Guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. Monday night’s loss was outshined by multiple incidents by Mavericks fans.
Daniel Gafford’s Injury
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania posted on X, formerly Twitter, “Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford will be re-evaluated in two weeks with a right knee sprain.” Charanis’s post sparked mixed emotions from users, with one user replying, “That’s not as bad as I thought,” and another replying, “I bet Dallas and the fans wish they could go back and start this year over.”
Mavericks GM Nico Harrison shared his vision for a Davis-led team, including a big frontcourt with multiple big men. But, with Daniel Gafford’s injury, Dallas must wait at least two weeks before Harrison’s vision comes alive. Davis sustained a left adductor strain that will likely sideline him for at least multiple weeks and Lively II has a right ankle stress fracture that will sideline him between two and three months.
Gafford’s Stats
Before sustaining a right ankle sprain, Daniel Gafford averaged 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, while shooting 69.9% from the field. Gafford has averaged 9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 67.4% from the field in his NBA career. The Chicago Bulls selected Gafford with the 38th overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft out of Arkansas.
Gafford’s injury is a concern, as a short-handed Mavericks team will host the Golden State Warriors, who are undefeated with Jimmy Butler, on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Central. The Mavericks seemed to make progress with a two-game winning streak before the injury bug reappeared and negatively impacted the team.
Dallas Mavericks’ Next Steps
The Dallas Mavericks’ next steps extend past Wednesday night’s game vs. the Golden State Warriors. There’s a chance that second-year Center Olivier-Maxence Prosper will take over at Center again. Prosper, 22, finished Tuesday night’s game with 16 points, four rebounds, and one assist in 34 minutes of play. Prosper’s talents include defense, shooting, and passing.
The Mavericks sit in eighth place in the Western Conference with a 28-26 record. The Mavericks’ chances of making the NBA Playoffs aren’t as high as they’d like, but an NBA playoff spot remains possible even though injuries and trades have been a rollercoaster to the team’s overall success. The Oklahoma City Thunder are the new favorites to win the 2025 NBA Finals.
