The Mavericks are making sure of it, as they reportedly intend to sign the centre to a three-year, roughly $60 million extension per ESPN’s Shams Charania on Monday.

Gafford, 26, was entering the final season of his current four-year, $40 million deal before unrestricted free agency in 2026. Instead, he’ll be locked in with the Mavs until the end of the 2028-29 season.

The deal can’t be made official until July 6, when the NBA’s signing window opens.

The payday comes after Gafford averaged a career-high 12.3 points to go with 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 blocks through 57 appearances. The six-foot-10 big man finished seventh in the NBA for average blocks per game, and his 70.2 per cent field goal rate ranked fourth in the league (min. 50 games).

Since he was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round (38th overall) of the 2019 draft, Gafford’s career 70.9 field goal percentage leads the NBA.

He’ll continue to round out a frontcourt rotation alongside star forward Anthony Davis and budding prospect Dereck Lively II, both of whom have faced their fair share of injuries, and will benefit from Gafford’s ability to step in. The Arkansas product started 31 games for the Mavericks last year, routinely filling in for both Davis and Lively.

Dallas acquired Gafford from the Washington Wizards at last year’s trade deadline, one of the moves that helped spark the team’s run to the 2024 NBA Finals.

The Mavericks will now be hoping for a bounce-back campaign after the shocking swap of Luka Doncic for Davis and a smattering of injuries upended their 2024-25 season to the tune of a 39-43 record, and they were bounced from the Play-In tournament.

With health and the addition of, say Duke star Cooper Flagg, whom the Mavs have the right to draft with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft on July 25, they expect to be right back in the Western Conference playoff picture.