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Dereck Lively II

Dereck Jerome Lively II (born February 12, 2004) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class.

Lively was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2024.

Early life

He was born on February 12, 2004, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to father Philadelphia-born, chef Dereck Lively[1] and mother Southfield, Michigan-born Kathy Phillips Drysdale, a former Penn State basketball star. Drysdale, who holds the college's record for consecutive field goals made and ranks in the top-20 in Penn State history in rebounds and blocks, worked for the Philadelphia 76ers in their entertainment division and then served as the Penn State women’s basketball marketing manager. She died in 2024 from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.[2] Lively’s father battled drug addiction for years and died in 2012 from an overdose.[1]

High school career

Lively attended Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania,[3][4] leading Westtown to a 31–7 record and the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association state championship in 2022. As a senior, he averaged 14.0 points, 14.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. He was selected to play in the 2022 McDonald's All-American Boys Game.[5][6]

Recruiting

Lively was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services. On September 20, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for Duke over offers from Kentucky, Michigan and Penn State.[7][8][9]

College career

Before the start of the 2022–23 season, Lively was named to the Naismith and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award preseason watchlists.[10][11] As a freshman at Duke, he averaged 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.[12] Lively was named to both ACC All-Freshman and Defensive teams.[13]

On April 4, 2023, Lively declared for the 2023 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[14]

Professional career

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Lively 12th overall in the 2023 NBA draft and then traded him to the Dallas Mavericks,[15] with whom he signed on July 8, 2023.[16] On October 25, 2023, Lively made his NBA regular-season debut putting up 16 points, 10 rebounds, one block, and one steal in a 126–119 win against the San Antonio Spurs.[17] He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team second team.[18] Lively ended his rookie season by reaching the 2024 NBA Finals where the Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games.[19]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

References

  1. ^ a b Golliver, Ben (July 14, 2023). "Derek Lively Has Been to Hell and Back. He's Ready to Talk about it". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  2. ^ Golliver, Ben (April 13, 2024). "Former Lady Lion and basketball standout Kathy Drysdale Passes Away". WFMZ-TV. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Dereck Lively II could become the best player Westtown has produced". February 25, 2022.
  4. ^ "No.1 Senior Dereck Lively is Ready to Reach for New Heights at Duke". February 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Three Jon Scheyer Recruits Named McDonald's All-Americans". January 26, 2022.
  6. ^ "Lively headlines McDonald's All American roster". January 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Westtown star Dereck Lively, the nation's top recruit, set to lead Duke into the post-Krzyzewski era". November 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "Lively, No. 2 men's hoops prospect, chooses Duke". September 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Duke lands top big-man prospect Dereck Lively, proves there still is life in recruiting rivalry with Kentucky". October 20, 2021.
  10. ^ "Lively Named to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List". Duke Blue Devils. October 28, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  11. ^ "Roach, Whitehead, Lively on Naismith Trophy Watch List". GoDuke.com. Duke Blue Devils. November 10, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  12. ^ Walley, Tyler (March 28, 2023). "Duke men's basketball 2022–23 player review: Dereck Lively II". Duke Chronicle. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  13. ^ "Miami's Wong leads ACC Basketball 2022–23 Season Honors". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 6, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  14. ^ "Duke freshman Dereck Lively II says he'll enter NBA Draft". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 4, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "Thunder Acquires Cason Wallace and Dāvis Bertāns". NBA website. July 6, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  16. ^ Falcon, Julia (July 17, 2023). "Mavericks sign 12th overall pick Dereck Lively II". CBS News. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  17. ^ "Mavericks spoil Victor Wembanyama's NBA debut, beat the Spurs 126–119 in the teams' opener". ESPN. Associated Press. October 26, 2023. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren headline 2023–24 Kia NBA All-Rookie teams". NBA.com. TNT Sports. May 20, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Boston Celtics defeat Dallas Mavericks to win 2024 NBA Finals". cbsnews.com. June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.

External links