Daniel Gafford is on pace to break this former Wilt Chamberlain record

One of the few bright spots for the Washington Wizards, Daniel Gafford has had an excellent season. Along with Delon Wright and Kyle Kuzma, he has been one of the success stories of an otherwise disappointing season.

In fact, he has been so good this season that he has played his way into reach of a record that used to belong to the late-great Wilt Chamberlain. Any time the words “record” and “Wilt” come up it tends to be something inhuman that most players could never dream of.

We have all experienced the moment when a player has done something seemingly inhuman and watched as the broadcast shows who else has done it just for Wilt Chamberlain to have done it multiple times over again. He didn’t just break the record book, he wrote it.

That’s what makes Daniel Gafford’s season so special. He has a chance to enter the small club of players who have outdone the great Wilt Chamberlain in a single season stat.

So what stat is Daniel Gafford exceeding in this season?

While it may seem like a miniscule stat compared to numbers like points or rebounds, Daniel Gafford is currently leading the league in field goal percentage this season. He has made nearly three quarters of his shot attempts this season making an absurd 74.8% from the floor.

While the record used to be held by Wilt Chamberlain for nearly 50 years, the record was broken by Mitchell Robinson in the 2019-’20 season where he shot 1.5% better than the Hall of Famer. As of right now, the record sits at 74.19%, slightly worse than Gafford’s current percentage.

To qualify for the official record books, a player must attempt at least 300 shots in a season. During the Wednesday night matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, Gafford took his 298th shot attempts of the season, meaning he will likely reach the landmark.

Gafford isn’t a player who likes to stretch the floor. His value in an offense lies as a roller in a pick play or in the dunking position. He also sets himself up for offensive rebounds and is often finding his points coming from a strong boxout such as his game winner against the Detroit Pistons.

What makes this record especially impressive, the Wizards aren’t a three-point heavy team like some other teams who have players high up on this list. Other names include Rudy Gobert from last season and Nic Claxton this season, both of which had/have elite shooting teams around them.

Breaking this record could be huge for the confidence of the Washington Wizards heading into next season. This proves that they are capable of getting things done as a team as that is something required for a record like this.

Being on the cusp of breaking a record like this just goes to show how valuable Daniel Gafford has been for his team this season. This is before even getting into his elite rim protection, something that he has made him worth the contract that the Washington Wizards gave him, even before this record was in play.