Where should Daniel Gafford be drafted in 2026-27?

The No. 181 player on the 2026-27 projection, up from No. 207 in 2025-26. Yahoo drafters take him at 122.6 on average, 58 picks before his rank: he costs more than he returns.

How many games will Daniel Gafford play in 2026-27?

Our projection has him at 60 games, after 55 last season.

DAL

Daniel Gafford

Dallas Mavericks · C · Age 28 · 6′10″ · 8th season

Rankings Luke Kennard Draymond Green

Rank#181C #49 · of 233

Value-0.7429-cat, per game

Yahoo ADP122.6ESPN 136.6

$ Max value$0Yahoo avg $1.0

Games6020 min a game

Rostered29.6%ESPN leagues

Fantasy outlook

The No. 181 player on the 2026-27 projection, up from No. 207 in 2025-26. He is top 25 in field-goal percentage among rotation players; the cost is free-throw percentage at 68.2%. Yahoo drafters take him at 122.6 on average, 58 picks before his rank: he costs more than he returns.

Stats over time

Rising: 9.4 in 2021-22, 9.5 last season.

Last season9.5

5-season average10.2

Trend a season+0.4

2026-27 proj.9.4

Fairly steady: between 9.0 (2022-23) and 12.3 (2024-25).
Per 36 minutes: 16.8 in 2021-22, 15.8 last season, on 20.1 → 21.7 minutes: it has held.
The projection (9.4) is in line with last season (9.5).

PTS rank among rotation players

23-24#144of 24724-25#127of 26625-26#198of 27226-27*#186of 213

Per game, from ESPN box scores. * Our 2026-27 projection, dashed.

Season by season

Season	Rank	Value	GP	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	FGM/FGA	FT%	FTM/FTA	TO
2026-27Proj.	181	-0.742	60	20	9.4	6.7	1.0	0.7	1.3	69.6%	3.8/5.5	68.2%	1.8/2.6	1.1
2025-26	207	-0.361	55	22	9.5	6.9	1.1	0.8	1.3	65.5%	3.8/5.8	68.3%	2.0/2.9	1.1
2024-25	119	-0.100	57	22	12.3	6.8	1.4	0.4	1.8	70.2%	5.0/7.1	68.9%	2.4/3.4	1.2
2023-24	38	0.108	74	24	11.0	7.6	1.6	0.9	2.1	72.5%	4.7/6.5	67.4%	1.6/2.4	1.0
2022-23	-	-	78	21	9.0	5.6	1.1	0.4	1.3	72.5%	3.7/5.1	66.7%	1.6/2.4	1.1
2021-22	-	-	72	20	9.4	5.7	0.9	0.4	1.4	70.2%	4.0/5.7	71.4%	1.5/2.1	0.9

Rank, Value and colours start with 2023-24, the first season on our board; earlier seasons show ESPN's box scores.

Category profile · 2026-27

PTS

9.4#186 of 213-0.73

3PM

0.0#212 of 213-0.85

REB

6.7#81 of 213-0.24

AST

1.0#207 of 213-0.87

STL

0.7#171 of 213-0.33

BLK

1.3#34 of 2130.36

FG%

69.6%3.8/5.5#12 of 2130.76

FT%

68.2%1.8/2.6#186 of 213-1.00

TO

1.1#38 of 2130.49

Rank among rotation players (20+ minutes, 20+ games). Colour is the value in the category, as in Rankings.

Team role · Dallas Mavericks

No. 2 at C for the Dallas Mavericks, behind Dereck Lively II. 208 minutes a night of the 2025-26 rotation left, most of it Anthony Davis, Brandon Williams, and Klay Thompson; Kyrie Irving is the arrival projected for the most minutes (33).

C

Left since 2025-26

Anthony Davis31 min → WSH
Brandon WilliamsSigned by GS Aug 2622 min → GS
Klay ThompsonWaived Aug 2122 min → MIA
Marvin Bagley III21 min → DEN
Khris MiddletonAcquired by WSH Jul 821 min → WSH
Ryan NembhardAcquired by CHA Sep 2220 min → CHA
D'Angelo RussellAcquired by MEM Jul 819 min → MEM
Dwight Powell14 min
Tyler Smith14 min
Jaden HardyAcquired by LAL Jul 713 min → LAL
AJ JohnsonAcquired by NO Sep 810 min → NO
Minutes a night208

Arrived

Santi AldamaAcquired Jul 828 min from MEM
Zaccharie Risacher22 min from ATL
Jett Howard13 min from ORL
Marcus SasserAcquired Jul 812 min from DET
Kyrie Irvingnew
Sergio de LarreaSigned Jul 3new
Tarik BiberovicSigned Jul 10new
Tobi LawalSigned Jul 3new
Morez Johnson Jr.new

Depth chart from ESPN. Who left and arrived: last season's box scores against today's roster; how and when: ESPN's transaction feed, where it lists the move. Minutes are last season's, per game. Dallas Mavericks depth chart

Season	Team	GP	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG%	FGM/FGA	FT%	FTM/FTA	TO
2025-26	DAL	55	21.7	9.5	6.9	1.1	0.8	1.3	66.7%	3.8/5.7	69.0%	2.0/2.9	1.1
2024-25	DAL	57	21.5	12.3	6.8	1.4	0.4	1.8	70.4%	5.0/7.1	70.6%	2.4/3.4	1.2
2023-24	WSH/DAL	74	24.5	11.0	7.6	1.6	0.9	2.1	72.3%	4.7/6.5	66.7%	1.6/2.4	1.0
2022-23	WSH	78	20.6	9.0	5.6	1.1	0.4	1.3	72.5%	3.7/5.1	66.7%	1.6/2.4	1.1
2021-22	WSH	72	20.1	9.4	5.7	0.9	0.4	1.4	70.2%	4.0/5.7	71.4%	1.5/2.1	0.9
2020-21	CHI/WSH	54	14.6	7.0	4.3	0.5	0.5	1.4	69.0%	2.9/4.2	65.0%	1.3/2.0	0.8
2019-20	CHI	43	14.2	5.1	2.5	0.5	0.3	1.3	71.0%	2.2/3.1	50.0%	0.7/1.4	0.7

Box-score averages from ESPN.

Daniel Gafford in fantasy basketball

The outlook above is written from our 2026-27 projection and his recent seasons, and changes with every projection run. His Value and ranks are the same numbers Rankings shows.