Daniel Gafford

January 31, 2025’s race to victory arrived with plenty of potential twists, turns, and detours, as the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons met in a battle of top-five defenses, in terms of barricading the rim. As history showed, Detroit had the "motor" required to win, but passing the finish line wouldn’t be easy with “The Landlord” in search of the keys. Creating first the type of second-effort play that creates NBA Finals representatives, Gafford concedes no easy bucket, leaping out to vanquish Jalen Duren’s once-promising alley-oop hopes. Normally one of deceptive speed in his defense-to-offense race in the open floor, Dallas’ 6-foot-10 enforcer elects to hang back, as his teammate’s turnover sends Detroit right back into transition. Ready for a Round 2, this time against Ausar Thompson’s elite-as-can-be vertical leap, Gafford times his own jump perfectly, successfully completing a two-blocks-in-12-seconds sequence. Detroit used a runaway second half to spoil Gafford’s “block party,” but the box score was worthy of celebration anyways, as Gafford — swatting shots away from the opening possession — tallied 16 points (on six-of-eight), 10 rebounds, three assists, and five blocks.