Daniel Gafford vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Daniel Gafford, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Daniel Gafford played 6 years in the NBA, 1 less than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played 7. Daniel Gafford had the first of his seasons in 2019-20, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his rookie season in 2018-19. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player		 Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Daniel Gafford 6 2 2019-20 to 2024-25
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7 4 2018-19 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Daniel Gafford Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 2019-202018-19
Team Chicago BullsLos Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs Did Not PlayClippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 43 14.2 5.1 1.2 1.3 2.5 0.5 0.3 1.3 0.7 2.3 2.2 3.1 .701 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.4 .533
difference:+39+12.3+5.7+0.5+0.8+0.3+2.8+0.9+0.8-1.0-0.2+2.0+5.6+.225+0.6+1.7+1.2+1.0+.267
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 82 26.5 10.8 0.7 2.1 2.8 3.3 1.2 0.5 1.7 2.1 4.2 8.7 .476 0.6 1.7 .367 1.9 2.4 .800
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford DNP------ --- ----------
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 6 28.8 13.7 0.7 2.0 2.7 3.2 1.0 0.8 0.8 2.8 4.7 10.0 .467 1.5 3.0 .500 2.8 3.3 .850

Season 2
Daniel Gafford Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 2020-212019-20
Team Chicago Bulls, Washington WizardsOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Wizards Lost East Conf 1st RdThunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 54 14.6 7.0 1.7 2.5 4.3 0.5 0.5 1.4 0.8 1.8 2.9 4.2 .684 0.0 0.0 - 1.3 2.0 .667
difference:+16+20.1+12.0+1.0+2.7+1.6+2.8+0.6+0.7-1.1-0.1+3.9+10.3+.213+1.2+3.6+2.8+3.1+.140
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 70 34.7 19.0 0.7 5.2 5.9 3.3 1.1 0.7 1.9 1.7 6.8 14.5 .471 1.2 3.6 .347 4.1 5.1 .807
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 5 23.4 11.8 2.8 3.0 5.8 0.6 1.0 2.0 0.6 3.4 4.4 5.2 .846 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 4.8 .625
difference:+2+16.5+4.5+2.4+1.9+0.5+3.5+1.6-1.5-1.0+1.2+7.7+.413+2.0+5.0+0.1+1.5+.332
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 7 39.9 16.3 0.4 4.9 5.3 4.1 1.0 0.4 2.1 2.4 5.6 12.9 .433 2.0 5.0 .400 3.1 3.3 .957

Season 3
Daniel Gafford Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 2021-222020-21
Team Washington WizardsOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 72 20.1 9.4 2.2 3.5 5.7 0.9 0.4 1.4 0.9 2.4 4.0 5.7 .693 0.0 0.0 - 1.5 2.1 .699
difference:+37+13.6+14.3+1.7+0.7+1.0+5.0+0.4+0.7-2.1-0.4+4.2+10.4+.185+2.0+4.9+3.8+4.4+.109
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 35 33.7 23.7 0.5 4.2 4.7 5.9 0.8 0.7 3.0 2.0 8.2 16.1 .508 2.0 4.9 .418 5.3 6.5 .808
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Daniel Gafford nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 3

Season 4
Daniel Gafford Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 2022-232021-22
Team Washington WizardsOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 78 20.6 9.0 2.1 3.5 5.6 1.1 0.4 1.3 1.1 2.4 3.7 5.1 .732 0.0 0.0 - 1.6 2.4 .679
difference:+22+14.1+15.5+1.4+0.8+0.6+4.8+0.9+0.5-1.7-0.1+4.8+13.7+.279+1.6+5.3+4.3+4.8+.131
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 56 34.7 24.5 0.7 4.3 5.0 5.9 1.3 0.8 2.8 2.5 8.5 18.8 .453 1.6 5.3 .300 5.9 7.2 .810
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Daniel Gafford nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 4

Season 5
Daniel Gafford Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 2023-242022-23
Team Washington Wizards, Dallas MavericksOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Mavericks Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 74 24.5 11.0 2.6 5.0 7.6 1.6 0.9 2.1 1.0 3.1 4.7 6.5 .725 0.0 0.0 - 1.6 2.4 .674
difference:+6+11.0+20.4+1.7+1.0+2.8+3.9+0.7+1.1-1.8-0.3+5.7+13.8+.215+0.9+2.5+8.2+8.5+.231
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 68 35.5 31.4 0.9 4.0 4.8 5.5 1.6 1.0 2.8 2.8 10.4 20.3 .510 0.9 2.5 .345 9.8 10.9 .905
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 22 20.2 9.0 1.9 3.6 5.5 0.7 0.3 1.5 0.9 1.7 3.5 5.6 .634 0.0 0.0 - 1.9 3.0 .631
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6
Daniel Gafford Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season 2024-252023-24
Team Dallas MavericksOklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement Steals Leader
-Achievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Did Not PlayThunder Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford 57 21.5 12.3 2.7 4.1 6.8 1.4 0.4 1.8 1.2 2.7 5.0 7.1 .702 0.0 0.0 - 2.4 3.4 .689
difference:+18+12.5+17.8+1.8+0.6+1.3+4.8+1.6+0.9-1.0-0.2+5.6+12.7+.167+1.3+3.6+5.2+5.3+.185
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 75 34.0 30.1 0.9 4.7 5.5 6.2 2.0 0.9 2.2 2.5 10.6 19.8 .535 1.3 3.6 .353 7.6 8.7 .874
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Daniel Gafford DNP------ --- ----------
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 10 39.9 30.2 0.8 6.4 7.2 6.4 1.3 1.7 2.2 3.1 11.1 22.4 .496 1.6 3.7 .432 6.4 8.1 .790

Additional Years

* Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played 1 season more than Daniel Gafford in the NBA.

In that period—his season 7 in 2025—Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the Playoffs and won the NBA Championship.

In that extra year over Daniel Gafford, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 Finals MVP
Achievement 1 Season MVP
Achievement 1 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 1 Scoring Leader
Achievement 1 Cup All-Tournament Team
Achievement 1 All-Star Game
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