 six year vet center for the Mavs joining us now Daniel Gafford and see everybody jinxed you Daniel. I wanted to tell you we spent so much time talking about the 33 consecutive field goals yesterday and you're going for Wilts record of 35. I thought it was so cool. And then you missed it. Oh OK. Talk to me. Did you how much was it playing in your mind by the way when you took the floor. Anybody say anything to you. When I first got out like it's funny how you say you jinxed me because I think she jinxed me a little bit too. He's like a former AU team made a mind we joke around most of the time when we play against each other. So he came up to me before the game like during tip off. He was like man you're going to try to break the record against us. And I think it's just kind of played out from there. You know it was a real exciting day for me though. You know at the end of the day I just got in a position just with it at the end with it at the beginning there and it was tough. It was tough. I mean it's got it be hard not to think about it when the whole world's just watching it waiting. Yeah. No that's true. That is true. I got it was kids and stuff just like you know OK seeing everything that was just like oh yeah it's going to be Wilt's record and stuff that was asking for autographs and everything. I was like I'm going to try. I'm going to do my best. All right. You know what you can just do it again. No big deal. Wilt's got other records 100 points in a game. We do that. That that's the biggest for my position. But I give a shot you know. All right. I like the positive energy. Yep. Yep. Gaff is there a small party that's happy that this is behind you. You know as you got closer obviously it seems like it started to play a little bit more people coming up to you whether it's fans other players teammates and did it impact your shot selection at all. I mean I just see you I just see you take any threes but you were doing your thing. Oh shot selection not necessarily today. You know I dunk everything pretty much you know. So it wasn't really anything too serious when it came to shot selection. I wasn't a bit nervous like the last two games when I was getting closer to it. So it's like every time that I was going to sleep or anything like that I'm just having to force myself to kind of think about something else at the end of the day because you know I was just like wired I was just I was ready to go. I was anxious. I was nervous. I was excited. It was like a bunch of emotions all in the one man. Mostly your shots are assisted by Luca or Kyrie. You got to tell me what's it like to share the court with those type of guys to be able to play with them. Yesterday I mentioned on the show I say yo he's eating off the land and by eating off the land you got two of the most dynamic guards that you could play pick and roll basketball with dump offs. Hey you've been able to break record score the ball at a high clip. What's it like playing with those guys in from a game to game basis? What's it like playing with them and watching them cook? I mean in all honesty it's a real great experience with me. I'm grateful to be in the position that I'm in today to be playing with just two great players and like just when I came in you know just guys on the team were just telling me to just you know do do the things that I'm usually always doing send screens and going for lives and always make sure that especially like when I come to teams like this make sure I at least pick the brain of the two man guys that I'm going to be sharing the floor with. You know they told me the things that they don't like they told me they do like cause it's like I have to be in the right spot at the right time and the experience that's seeing the things that they do on a night to night basis. It's just it's unbelievable you know and I'm just blessed to be able to sit on the sideline and experience most of the time when I'm not on the floor when I'm out there on the floor I just make sure I don't I don't mess up too much you know get them down here and get them to their spots you know because it's tough for you when you got you know the two best guys on the floor getting on you about you know the things that you usually would do on a night to night basis so I just got to make sure that I'm locked in a hundred percent and just go finish around the room. Those are the main thing. Yeah if your former teammate Kyle Kuzma he said you have the easiest job in sports. Do you agree. A hundred percent you know I just I just go light a guy up this guard the two of our best players and I run to the rim at the end of the day and if they get doubled you know I make sure I stay around even outlet that I rebound a ball block sides come out with energy and be the anchor for the on the defensive end at the end of the day and offensively just set screens and roll to the basket. So paint the picture for those of us who will never share a floor with Luca. What is it like. I mean they say head on a swivel and we take that for granted but it would seem with him you really have to do that. Oh yeah for sure because it doesn't really matter where you are on the floor he's always going to find you whether you're in the corner top of the key he's driving down to the back. You could be in any position possible on the floor and it's going to be some type of way he gets to ball to you whether you're a big another guard on the floor sharing the floor with him three man four man wherever. So it's just like yeah you have to keep your head on a swivel. I've always have your hands ready to be shot ready because you know sometimes sometimes you miss the shot if he has tried this issue he's going to try to get on you know at the end of the day. But it's just dope because he puts so much trust in his teammates and he tries to make everyone better on the floor from just like the position that I'm seeing at the end of the day. So I mean like I said the experience is when we're seeing the stuff that he does on the night tonight basically is unbelievable. And I can say consistent with him for so long and just something else that I'm trying to get to a point to be able to do to consistency is a big thing for me and just seeing how he holds himself and how he's consistent with everything he does on the floor. As for sure like something that is contagious throughout the team. Is there a pass that sticks out to you that he's done that you sort of remember more than others. I thought the one the other night the nutmeg with Clay Thompson was cool. But then I was educated by both Lou and Chandler that that's not that big a deal. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. That is that's a bit of a regular pass coming from him and all on. Yeah. There's no I would say there's no passes that's really surprised me more than just like a full court passes he's throwing me if our contestants shot him a 3 3 point line he gets the rebound he just launches it. You know to have trust in the big land to be able to make the pass like that. That's that says a lot. You know at the end of the day I just got to make sure that I catch it when I play wide receiver a ninth grade and I couldn't catch a cold. So catching those passes like that is something that you know it's like OK I got to get better at it because I'm going to get these more often. Oh man you're having flashbacks. It's a weird one. All right. Can we talk Luke and Kyrie for a second because I mean Kyrie sort of has an air of mystery to him and we see Lucas personality shine through a little sarcasm. What are those dudes like off the court. They really down earth people. You know it's just it's just you really expect like when I first got around Kyrie I was expecting him to kind of be a little bit more. I would say like you said on the mysterious side. But once I got to actually sit down and talk to all this is like he's just a regular person. You know without the NBA status you just be just like you know regular person is like anybody else. So it's dope to just kind of like pick the brains of guys like him. Luke he's pretty chill. You know me and with the same age. So it's just like it's just like man you know I feel old just because it's like how my mentality is I have a real old soul. So it's just like sitting around Luke he's real quiet. He reminds me of a young me like a young young me at the end of the day because every time that I've seen him he's either on the phone playing cards or he's he's sitting down just looking at stuff on his Instagram feed. So it's just dope. They both rear down earth guy and they don't really do too much off the floor. Gaff you started your career with the Bulls. How do you kind of look back at that start for you. And then you ended up in DC. Now you're in Dallas and how do you view the three cultures that you've been a part of. And you know the obviously I'm sure it's night and day playing for the Wizards this year versus the Mavericks. But how do you kind of reconcile with the culture that you've been a part of so far in your career. I mean he's in every one of them just like the fan bases the organization and everything was well and then with open arms. You know Chicago course it took his toll. It's a lot of things that I felt like I took for granted in that situation whenever I was there with that team. Like I traded to Washington and I take another step in just like my career and how I wanted to blossom in the league and you know was there for three years made a lot of great friendships great relationship with a lot of people on the team the organization in DC and to be put in the position that I'm in now. I mean it was just kind of like when I got to Washington just come in and just be me at the end of the day. They gave me the freedom to pretty much just do anything that I needed to do to be able to help the team win at the end of the day. So me coming here. I'm back close to home in Dallas. I'm like four to five hours away from my hometown South El Dorado if anybody's watching it from down there. I know they're going to be mad if I don't. But it's just you know each one of the cultures is not been too different. But at the end of the day they always made sure that they you know walk with the new guys and with open arms and I really appreciate that. Just being a guy that's you know been on three different teams now just being on this team. I just feel like you know the love this was like continuously from from the Chicago team to the Wizards team to not doubt this love is you know through the roof and I appreciate it 100% most dealt. I know you're not invested in it no more. But you know you played in DC for seasons. That was a tough stretch. What do you think it takes for the Wizards to be a winning organization? Do you think they have what it takes to be a winning organization? Oh 100% thinks that they have what it takes at the end of the day is just falls down to just like a level of consistency and something that we were just getting to before I got traded was just like the level of accountability with everybody on the team. At the end of the day we came out night in night out. We were trying to figure it out. But one thing that we never did when I was there was just like, you know, always come in. It's like, man, we don't know what to do. So we just don't kind of give in night in night out. We just come out and just lay down and let everybody beat up on us at the end of the day. We always had plans on how to at least try to come out and make some type of fight on a night to night basis. And that's something that I see them trying to get to, you know, these next coming years when it comes to the organization trying to rebuild and trying to find just like their niche in the league, you know, because I mean, a couple of years before we were, I had made the playoffs when Russ was there when I first got there. And then I think the year after we were close to at least trying to make a play in birth. So at the end of the day, like, you know, when I was there, we told them ourselves, you know, we like put ourselves in position to succeed. It's just, you know, like tonight basis, we just kind of like that couldn't figure out how to just like finish out a lot of stuff at the end of the day. You know, so like I said, it's just, you know, the accountability part, once they take the steps in the right direction from when I left, I'd seen that it's just, you know, when DK, he became the head coach and stuff. He really just kind of like changed, I would say, the scenery and the atmosphere, which is how he wanted everybody. He wanted everybody on the team, how he wanted people to act, so on and so forth. So any show that covers NBA these days has to have a fashion segment. It is become a part of the game, one that I cherish. And on the Kyle Kuzma side of things, did you ever look up and say, what in the hell are you wearing, sir? What's going on with Kyle Kuzma? I stopped worrying about, I stopped worrying about cool stuff once he did the pink sweater. I was like, yeah, I don't even want to ask questions at this point. Oh, the giant pink sweater with the sleeves. Yeah, yeah, that one, that one, that one got me. I was like, yeah, because I had seen a couple before he had came to the Wizards and it was just like, OK, you know, he has one of those fast kind of like Russ at the end of the day. It wasn't it wasn't where Russ was at at the time when I first had seen it. But like now once I see the pink sweater thing, I was like, yes, it can't get no worse than this. It did. I seen the big. Yeah, I seen the big bubble jacket that he wore the day we had went to play Brooklyn. If I'm not mistaken. And the color of the jacket was like at the top of his head. I was like, bro, what are you doing? God, I love it. I love it so much. He gives us stuff. And where does he keep it? He has a different sense of it. It does. Is he getting those made? Is he had to give a stylist? Like, how does that work? I don't know. He's real big and passionate. And he tells his stories all the time with just like all the stuff that he wears and whatnot. You know, I was like, yeah, man, that's that's cool, you know, but some of the stuff, some of the stuff is getting outrageous, you know. It takes up a lot of space in your locker. I mean, thank you can't fit in there. That's a great point. The jacket alone needs its own locker. Speaking of outfits, maybe you could help us and explain the following. I will show you right now as we roll up some images. What's going on here? Mm hmm. So my stylist got to be home with this together, of course. Really? What's up with the mask? That pirate to the Caribbean. The mask. And honestly, I was expecting the mask to have something when it came to just like up top of my hair. When I first like decided to put it on, I did not know it was going to be an octopus mask at the end of the day. And I just, you know, I sent it to my stylist before I head out of the door before every game. And he's like, yeah, man, swag it out. Swag it out. Look cool. And I was trying my best to put like the most serious face I could possibly put on with this mask on. Because I just knew I just knew it was going to get a lot of it was going to get a lot of like sideways looks because, you know, everybody, everybody didn't even know it was me at the time. No, it was just like my first time dressing up. I'm digging the hoodie, though. I'm looking for that hoodie. What kind of hoodie is it? I can't even I can't even remember what who had sent it to me if I'm not mistaken. I can't my stylist had did it. But it's not too far from here if I'm not mistaken. I for sure find it, you know, and get it to you. I got you. But not you, Lou. You can't wear the hoodie without the mask. The mask is vital. No, I'm going to leave the mask at home. I'm going to leave at the D. I'm going to leave at the DG. I'm going to leave the mask at home. But I love that hoodie, though. That's pretty hard. I told her I was like, I appreciate the mask. But we for sure like I've worn hats with like long ears on it before. I was like, yeah, let's keep it. Let's keep it with the ears. You know, you did it. The octopus, you know, octopus, octopus a bit different. I felt like a wrestler coming out getting ready for Royal Rumble, man. Nice. Not awful either. No, not at all. So, yeah, in high school, you played the drums in the marching band. What was that like? Yeah. I mean, you have to have been the biggest drummer in high school history, marching band history. I was. Do you still play the drums? Are you going to start an all NBA rock band? Oh, y'all done brought back the OG video. That's what started it all, man. But no, like when I when I when I get to a point to where it's like I'm fully settled with just everything here in Dallas, I'm for sure going to try to get back to it. My wife, she's been on my butt about it for the longest. She's like, yeah, you need to get back with music something and such and such. Because I play music all the time around the house. And she just gets mad because, you know, I put so much energy into energy into it when it comes to me listening to it. So it's like, yeah, she like if you don't lock in, you know, some some bad going to happen to you. I was like, oh, yeah, let me go and get right. But just yeah, was most definitely like one of the tallest guys that was like out of the blue, you know, playing the bass drum marching down my cousin was in the band. He played the snare drum. He was always right beside me. So when I first started doing it, it was just something that, you know, I wanted to try out, see if I was going to get better at it. I started off with just like the clarinet played three different variations of the clarinet. So it was regular one, bass clarinet, contra bass clarinet. So I was getting better over time when it came to the concert season, where we had to sit in the chair and hold the instrument. I was getting better over time to when it came to the marching band stuff. I wanted to play the snare drum, not going to lie to you. I wanted to be on just like the smallest drum as possible. There's like, no, we're going to put the biggest drum on your shoulders and we don't see what you do with it. Yeah, they're going to waste that. By the way, were you were you first chair clarinet? Like how good were you at clarinet? Um, I was terrible at the first one. Then I got to a point to where I was I sucked at trying to get high notes. So I went to the base clarinet, which was it kind of got like the tone and stuff kind of got lower as I like upgraded with the clarinet. So I got to contra bass clarinet. That was the third variation of it that I played. And every time we went to regionals and stuff, I can't even talk. Um, I was always just like the only one that was playing that certain clarinet. So I always had made it. So it's like, I don't even know if I was like the best of the best or anybody else just didn't want to play this big clarinet at the end of the day. It counts, man. It counts. By the way, fellow band nerds, I appreciate the stories. I love it. I'll saxophone, much cooler instrument, but we don't have to argue about that here. Uh, Daniel Gafford. Dallas Mavericks. It's going to be a hell of a stretch down these final weeks, Daniel. Best of luck all the way. And thank you. Thank you all so much. All right, running back. We'll be back.