Getty Daniel Gafford of Arkansas, who projects to be a first round pick, blocks a shot.
Recruited out of high school, Arkansas’ Daniel Gafford was a solid prospect but lost in the shuffle of his loaded high school class. However, this season has seen Gafford average 16.8 points to go with his 8.4 rebounds per game and has given scouts reason to believe that he could have a very productive NBA career.
Incredibly athletic despite his 6’11” 230-pound frame and with a massive wingspan, Gafford projects to be an excellent rim protector at the NBA level. Already averaging 2.1 blocks per game in his career at Arkansas, Gafford looks to offer potentially more room to improve there. Relying mainly on his pure athleticism to block shots, Gafford’s timing is still improving and although his block numbers have dropped this season, he is fouling less and has taken on more of an offensive workload.
High-flying freshman Daniel Gafford just might be one of the nation’s best dunkers 😳
Gafford doesn’t possess much shooting from deep and will likely never be a great shooter in general. Despite the modern NBA favoring stretch bigs, there is still a much-needed role for hyper-athletic rim-running big men. Gafford is also an excellent finisher (due to his massive wingspan) around the basket and is adept at setting screens, something that should translate well to the NBA.
Daniel Gafford NBA Mock Draft Projections & Draft Stock
For all of Gafford’s upside, the question marks around his shooting and perimeter defense cap his draft stock. As a result, just about every NBA mock draft has Gafford going late in the first round well past the lottery. NBAdraft.net has Gafford going the highest at 19 to the Boston Celtics while ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo both have him falling all the way to the Warriors at 29.
However, NBA teams are always looking for talented big men in the draft and the injury to Bol Bol and inconsistent play of Naz Reid have opened the door for other bigs like Gafford to rise up in the draft. Charles Bassey is actually one of the few centers outside Gafford to not see his draft stock fall throughout the season and should still be a lock for a top 10 pick.
Daniel Gafford NBA Player Comparison
At the NBA level, Gafford’s skillset looks fairly similar to that of Clint Capela, but with a bit more natural athleticism. This bodes well for Gafford and his lack of shooting as Capela is not a shooter yet has carved himself out a role as a key cog for the Houston Rockets and is instrumental in their success. Capela is a game-changing presence on defense who gives Harden and Paul an extremely capable finisher around the basket.
Gafford’s athleticism will help tremendously in his development as a rim running big in the NBA, similar to Capela. Able to get up and down the court extremely quickly, Gafford should find himself on the receiving end of quite a few transition lobs and easy looks. Gafford is an incredibly raw player but the athletic component and motor he plays with are some of his biggest strengths. Gafford actually may be more athletic than Capela is and could potentially be an even bigger threat in this department at the NBA level.
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While Capela is not known for his defensive IQ, the fact remains that he is one of the smartest help defenders in the game and quickly picked up the Rockets “switch everything” scheme. Gafford also looks to be a high IQ player, essentially quarterbacking the Arkansas defense during games. You can actually hear Gafford on most Arkansas broadcasts barking out directions and assignments to his teammates. Especially for a sophomore, that sort of IQ and leadership is something NBA teams love. Despite sometimes playing a bit out of control, that is something that will come with time and Gafford should grow into a very high IQ defender at the next level.
For all of his tantalizing upside, Gafford does still have a few weaknesses keeping him from being one of the first players off the board, which happen to be some of the same concerns NBA scouts had about Capela coming into the league. Most notably, Gafford struggles mightily scoring from outside the post and has an extremely limited range. Moreover, Gafford struggles when switched onto a quicker guard and stuck on the perimeter. At the college level he can get by on his athleticism alone and recover but that won’t fly in the NBA and he will need to shore up that aspect of his game to see regular minutes.