Who is better, Daniels or Gates?
Mel Daniels leads with a GOAT score of 84.1 against 84.1 for Pop Gates — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Daniels vs Gates
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Mel Daniels and Pop Gates level at 84.1. Mel Daniels leads on Honours, Dominance, Peak. Pop Gates leads on Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
DanielsWinner
84.1Daniels wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Gates
84.1Gates wins: Longevity
Candidates
Locked to BasketballShareable URL · /compare/mel-daniels-vs-pop-gates
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Mel Daniels
84.1
Daniels leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Mel Daniels
2. Pop Gates
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇺🇸 Mel Daniels5 seasons played · career day 1,825399 points per game
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇺🇸 Pop Gates5 seasons played · career day 2,19053 points per game
-86.7% vs Daniels at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Daniels | 0 | 0 | 60 | 132 | 399 | 661 |
| 🇺🇸 Gates | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 42 | 80 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | DanielsRetired | GatesRetired |
|---|---|---|
| ABA MVP awards | 2 | — |
| ABA titles | 3 | — |
| ABA All-Star selections | 7 | — |
| Career rebounds per game | 15.1 | — |
| Seasons played | 10 | 17 |
| World Professional Tournament titles | — | 2 |
| NBL seasons | — | 5 |
| Hall of Fame inductions | — | 1 |
| Career points per game | — | 8 |
| Dominance w25% | 82 | 80 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 90 |
| Longevity w20% | 74 | 86 |
| Honours w20% | 86 | 80 |
| Statistics w15% | 88 | 86 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Daniels84.1
Gates84.1
FAQ
Where does Gates beat Daniels?
Gates scores higher on longevity. Daniels leads on peak, dominance, honours, statistics.
How is the Daniels vs Gates score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Daniels: 84.1, Gates: 84.1.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Daniels vs Gates. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.