Daniel Gafford admits he should've done more to make the most of his Bulls tenure, but he's found a fit in Dallas now

CHICAGO (670 The Score) – At his former team’s expense, Mavericks big man Daniel Gafford continued his strong play and drew closer to an NBA record in Dallas’ 127-92 win at Chicago on Monday evening.

Gafford scored 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field and has now made 28 consecutive field-goal attempts. Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain holds the NBA record, with 35 straight field goals made in 1967.

Gafford’s 28 straight field goals without a miss are the most in the NBA since at least 1996-’97, which is as far back as complete play-by-play data goes. Against the Bulls, Gafford converted eight layups and had one dunk as he helped the Mavericks dominate in the paint, where they scored 60 points on 30-of-40 shooting as a team.

“My philosophy, for sure, is just being consistent, having the mindset of going to finish everything, no matter if there’s somebody in front of you or if there isn’t somebody in front of you,” Gafford said. “At the end of the day, you’re either dunking it or putting it in the rim.”

Gafford hasn’t missed a shot from the field since March 3, when he missed his lone attempt in Dallas’ loss to Philadelphia. He hasn’t missed in the four games since as he continues to be a dynamic weapon while diving to the rim in pick-and-rolls initiated by star Luka Doncic, who posted 27 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists to record his seventh straight triple-double.

“I tell people any accolade that is around my name is a good thing for me, but at the end of the day, I just want to win, just compete, just go out and have fun with the game,” Gafford said after the Mavericks improved to 37-28.

Gafford was selected by the Bulls in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft and spent about one-and-a-half seasons in Chicago before being dealt to Washington at the trade deadline in 2021. After the Mavericks’ win, Gafford admitted there was “a little bit” of extra joy in beating his former team, then his mood turned reflective as he took a trip down memory lane.

Gafford, 25, shared an appreciation for how those in the Bulls organization treated him, but he also admitted he didn’t make the most of his tenure in Chicago, which began when he was 20 years old.

“I felt like in all honesty, just where my work ethic is now, it most definitely could’ve been literally like a lot better and just like the area when I was here,” Gafford said. “I felt like I took a lot of stuff for granted when I was here. I felt like I didn’t get the job done whenever I stepped out on the floor. I felt like I was always fidgety. I felt like I was always not ready, not locked in. So just taking that next step once I got traded, it was something that I wanted to get better at, for sure. So it helped me build my character. It helped me build my mentality to just come out every night and always be ready.”

Gafford acknowledged his focus waned at times with the Bulls, for whom he averaged 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 13.4 minutes across 74 games.

“It’s like I kind of fell out of love with the game, and I had to kind of re-evaluate myself,” Gafford said. “So once I got traded to Washington, it’s like I took a step back and just like figured out how to bring myself back into love with the game, for sure. It was lot when it came to me mentally here in Chicago. I wanted to be better than I was, of course. But with this business, you just have to, I would say, be ready for anything in all honestly. When I was here for the year-and-a-half that I was here, I felt like I just wasn’t in that position when it comes to just being ready for anything.

“I don’t think it was necessarily because of the losing. In all honesty, I think it just me wanting to be the player that I wanted to be. And I wasn’t making any steps to be that player. So I had to do a lot of re-evaluations. I had to do a lot of soul searching too. It was just a lot of stuff that kind of like, I would say, pulled me out mentally with it. I wanted to be way better than what I was playing. And it’s like I just really couldn’t make that push because I would say I was being lazy, for sure. So I had to take another step just into like the responsibility of just being a better player, being a better player off the court, on the court, taking care of my body, taking care of my mental. There was just a lot of stuff I had to take the next step into being better at.”

Gafford was traded from the Wizards to the Mavericks in February, and he has thrived in Dallas.

“I feel that I’ve come here and I’ve locked into everything that I needed to lock into,” Gafford said.

Cody Westerlund is an editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund .