Jalen Brunson vs. Daniel Gafford Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Daniel Gafford and Jalen Brunson, 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.

Jalen Brunson played 7 years in the NBA, 1 more than Daniel Gafford, who played 6. Jalen Brunson had the first of his seasons in 2018-19, while Daniel Gafford had his rookie season in 2019-20. 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
Jalen Brunson 7 5 2018-19 to 2024-25
Daniel Gafford 6 2 2019-20 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6

Rookie Season
Jalen Brunson Daniel Gafford
Season 2018-192019-20
Team Dallas MavericksChicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 73 21.8 9.3 0.3 2.0 2.3 3.2 0.5 0.1 1.2 1.7 3.6 7.7 .467 0.9 2.5 .348 1.2 1.6 .725
difference:+30+7.6+4.2+0.9+0.7+0.2+2.7+0.2+1.2-0.5-0.6+1.4+4.6+.234+0.9+2.5+0.5+0.2+.192
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
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Jalen Brunson nor Daniel Gafford played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
Jalen Brunson Daniel Gafford
Season 2019-202020-21
Team Dallas MavericksChicago Bulls, Washington Wizards
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayWizards Lost East 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%
Jalen Brunson 57 17.9 8.2 0.4 2.0 2.4 3.3 0.4 0.1 1.2 1.3 3.2 6.8 .466 0.8 2.1 .358 1.1 1.3 .813
difference:+3+3.3+1.2+1.3+0.5+1.9+2.8+0.1+1.3-0.4-0.5+0.3+2.6+.218+0.8+2.1+0.2+0.7+.146
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson DNP------ --- ----------
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

Season 3
Jalen Brunson Daniel Gafford
Season 2020-212021-22
Team Dallas MavericksWashington Wizards
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st RdDid 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%
Jalen Brunson 68 25.0 12.6 0.4 3.0 3.4 3.5 0.5 0.0 1.2 1.6 4.8 9.2 .523 1.2 2.9 .405 1.8 2.2 .795
difference:+4+4.9+3.2+1.8+0.5+2.3+2.6+0.1+1.4-0.3-0.8+0.8+3.5+.170+1.2+2.9+0.3+0.1+.096
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 7 16.3 8.0 0.9 1.7 2.6 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.6 0.9 2.9 6.3 .455 0.9 1.9 .462 1.4 1.9 .769
Daniel Gafford DNP------ --- ----------

Season 4
Jalen Brunson Daniel Gafford
Season 2021-222022-23
Team Dallas MavericksWashington Wizards
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Mavericks Lost West Conf FinalsDid 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%
Jalen Brunson 79 31.9 16.3 0.5 3.4 3.9 4.8 0.8 0.0 1.6 1.9 6.4 12.8 .502 1.2 3.2 .373 2.3 2.7 .840
difference:+1+11.3+7.3+1.6+0.1+1.7+3.7+0.4+1.3-0.5-0.5+2.7+7.7+.230+1.2+3.2+0.7+0.3+.161
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 18 34.9 21.6 0.8 3.8 4.6 3.7 0.8 0.1 1.1 2.1 8.1 17.3 .466 1.4 4.2 .347 4.0 5.0 .800
Daniel Gafford DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5
Jalen Brunson Daniel Gafford
Season 2022-232023-24
Team New York KnicksWashington Wizards, Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf SemisMavericks Lost NBA Finals
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 68 35.0 24.0 0.6 3.0 3.5 6.2 0.9 0.2 2.1 2.2 8.6 17.6 .491 2.0 4.7 .416 4.8 5.8 .829
difference:+6+10.5+13.0+2.0+2.0+4.1+4.6+1.9-1.1-0.9+3.9+11.1+.234+2.0+4.7+3.2+3.4+.155
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 11 40.3 27.8 0.8 4.1 4.9 5.6 1.5 0.1 2.1 2.4 9.9 20.9 .474 2.4 7.3 .325 5.6 6.2 .912
difference:+11+20.1+18.8+1.1+0.5+0.6+4.9+1.2+1.4-1.2-0.7+6.4+15.3+.160+2.4+7.3+3.7+3.2+.281
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

Season 6
Jalen Brunson Daniel Gafford
Season 2023-242024-25
Team New York KnicksDallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Knicks Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 77 35.4 28.7 0.6 3.1 3.6 6.7 0.9 0.2 2.4 1.9 10.3 21.4 .479 2.7 6.8 .401 5.5 6.5 .847
difference:+20+13.9+16.4+2.1+1.0+3.2+5.3+0.5+1.6-1.2-0.8+5.3+14.3+.223+2.7+6.8+3.1+3.1+.158
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
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Jalen Brunson 13 39.8 32.4 0.6 2.7 3.3 7.5 0.8 0.2 2.7 2.0 11.6 26.2 .444 2.0 6.5 .310 7.2 9.2 .775
Daniel Gafford DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Jalen Brunson played 1 season more than Daniel Gafford in the NBA.

In that period—his season 7 in 2025—Jalen Brunson played in the Playoffs.

In that extra year over Daniel Gafford, Jalen Brunson got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 1 Clutch Player of the Year
Achievement 1 All-Star Game
Share: