‘I Feel Like His Little Brother’: Daniel Gafford Reacts To Victor Wembanyama’s 52-Point Masterclass Against Dallas Mavericks
DALLAS — Less than a day after Victor Wembanyama set career highs with 52 points and 24 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks, center Daniel Gafford joined 105.3 The Fan’s K&C Masterpiece on Thursday.
The San Antonio Spurs held on for a 112-111 win Wednesday night at Frost Bank Center, their sixth straight victory. Wembanyama made the go-ahead free throw with 24.2 seconds left. Kyrie Irving, who led Dallas with 29 points, missed a contested turnaround jumper in the lane in the final seconds.
Wembanyama shot 16-of-28 from the field and 19-of-23 at the free-throw line, and he blocked 8 shots. His 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks in the first half made him the first player since the play-by-play era began in 1996-97 with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a half.
Gafford said Wembanyama gets better every game, and he hated being on the receiving end of it Wednesday.
“Man, it was a masterclass,” Gafford said. “And the sky’s the limit for him. He gets better and better every game. And I think he’s just fully developing into a player that he’s really putting his mind to. It’s just dope seeing somebody of his stature be able to do the things that he does.”
“Granted, we were on the receiving end of that, which I hate at the end of the day, but he’s a very unique player, and we all see that night in, night out,” Gafford continued.
Gafford finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 blocks on 1-of-6 shooting.
Daniel Gafford On Going Body To Body With Victor Wembanyama
Through 8 starts this season, Gafford is shooting 67.4% from the field. San Antonio blocked 2 of his 6 attempts Wednesday.
The thought that it seems unfair for someone that size to be that skilled has crossed Gafford’s mind, too, especially after his own time on the floor with Wembanyama.
“I can’t lie. I can’t sit right here and say I never thought that, especially being on the floor with him a couple of times,” Gafford explained. “Because there’s times where it’s like, I really don’t get my shot blocked. But it’s like, man, every time I shoot a shot against him or we’re body to body, it’s just full palm. I feel like his little brother, and it just sucks.”
Late in the first half, Wembanyama blocked 3 shots in 13 seconds on the same possession, sending attempts by Cooper Flagg and P.J. Washington out of bounds before a Spurs teammate came up with the third.
San Antonio has won both meetings this season. The Spurs beat Dallas 122-106 on Oct. 24 at American Airlines Center, when Wembanyama had 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Gafford Weighs Shaquille O’Neal Against Wembanyama
The conversation turned to how Shaquille O’Neal would have handled Wembanyama. O’Neal averaged 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks over 19 NBA seasons, and he won three straight Finals MVP awards with the Los Angeles Lakers from 2000 to 2002.
Gafford’s first instinct was to call O’Neal the more dominant force. He could not picture how the matchup would actually play out.
“When it comes to Shaq and Wemby, I feel like, of course, you always want to say Shaq is the most dominant force when it comes to it,” Gafford said. “But all in all, I feel like it’s going to be a very good game. But, I mean, I really don’t know. I really can’t even put my mind around thinking just like how it would be played out.”
“Because Shaq was a force to be reckoned with at the end of the day,” Gafford added. “And so is Wemby. But it’s just in two different areas of the floor, so I really don’t know.”
Wembanyama took 8 3-point attempts Wednesday and made 1. He scored 28 of his 52 points in the paint.
Dallas (4-4) hosts the Utah Jazz in an NBA Cup group-stage game Friday at American Airlines Center, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. CT. San Antonio visits the Sacramento Kings the same night.
