Luka Doncic, Daniel Gafford Make Major Dallas Mavs & NBA History

Luka Doncic and Daniel Gafford's special connection now has some history to prove how good they were for the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic and Daniel Gafford have quickly become one of the best guard-center duos in basketball, and now they have some history to prove how dynamic they were in the second half of the season.

Doncic won the scoring title and Gafford has the highest shooting percentage in the league, making them the first Mavs players to ever lead the NBA in both stats.

Feb 10, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) celebrates with Daniel Gafford (21).

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Doncic averaged 33.9 points per game, which was 3.5 points more than the closest player, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Doncic was also second in 3-pointers made (4.1) and third in assists (9.8) per game. Both totals were a career-best for the Mavs superstar.

Gafford was instrumental in spurring the turnaround that led Dallas from being a play-in team to earning the No. 5 seed heading into the playoffs. Between his 74 games for the Washington Wizards and Mavs, the 6-foot-10 center has averaged 11 points per game on 72.5 percent shooting from the field – the third highest percentage of all-time for a single season.. Since arriving in Dallas, Gafford averaged 11.2 points on 78 percent shooting in his 29 games.

The addition of Gafford gave the Mavs one of the game's most formidable duos at center, as rookie Dereck Lively II made history of his own by shooting 74.7 percent, which is the highest for a first-year player in NBA history.

Dallas went 21-8 since acquiring Gafford at the trade deadline and reached 50 wins for the second time in three seasons. Now, the historic duo that is Doncic and Gafford, they'll have to exorcise their playoff demons when they face the Clippers for the third time in their last four postseason appearances in the first round.