[8][9] Against Memphis in the Elite Eight, Afflalo was noted by many to be largely responsible for stopping Rodney Carney and helping UCLA advance to the Final Four.

[10] In the 2007 NCAA Tournament, he was named the West Regional's Most Outstanding Player after scoring 24 points and making several big plays in a 68–55 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks.

[11] However, his quick foul trouble against the Florida Gators cost his team the ability to successfully compete and the Bruins ended up bowing out of the tournament.

[13] In a surprising turn of events, Afflalo made his first career NBA start on November 1, 2007, the opening night of his rookie season, when Richard Hamilton missed the first two games to attend the birth of his son.

Afflalo started the team's first and second games during his rookie campaign[14] that culminated with a loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2008 NBA Playoffs.

[15] On February 14, 2009, Afflalo helped Team Detroit to its second victory in three years at the Shooting Stars Competition during the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Arizona.

[19] On August 10, 2012, he was traded to the Orlando Magic in a four-team deal which sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers, Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets.

[23] On June 26, 2014, Afflalo was traded back to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Evan Fournier and the draft rights to Devyn Marble.

[24][25] Afflalo, arguably Orlando's best player in 2013–14, was dealt to avoid concerns that he would opt out of his contract following the 2014–15 season and assured the Magic value in return.

[26] On October 29, 2014, Afflalo made his return for the Nuggets, recording 15 points and four rebounds in the season opening 89–79 win over the Detroit Pistons.

[27] On February 19, 2015, Afflalo was traded, along with Alonzo Gee, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Will Barton, Víctor Claver, Thomas Robinson, and a lottery-protected 2016 first-round pick.

[29] Afflalo missed the first eight games of the regular season with hamstring issues, making his debut for the Knicks on November 11 against the Charlotte Hornets.