Alexander Brown
When the buzzer sounded at the end of Game 6 of the Western Conference second round, Dereck Lively II was hailed as a hero. The 7-foot-1 rookie was there for Dallas’ celebration of advancing to the Western Conference Finals, in large part due to his efforts. He posted a plus or minus point, with the Mavericks outscoring the Thunder by 26 points when Lively was on the floor. His dunks, rebounds and rim protection were vital in securing a one-point victory over the No. 1 seed.
It was the culmination of everything Lively had experienced in her life playing on the biggest stage.
“If you want to play with somebody, you want to play with Dereck,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer told CBS Sports this week. “He charted his own path on how he would do it. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
Nearly three years ago, Lively had climbed his way up to become one of the top recruits in the 2022 class, sometimes ranking No. 1. While being the best player in a class is an honor, it also requires close scrutiny and an intense microscope. In Lively’s case, his journey to becoming the top-ranked recruit was a mix of circumstances and development.
Following his seventh grade season, Lively joined the Team Final AAU program as a talented, albeit green, prospect. At the time, Team Final featured three proven, talented players: future lottery pick Jalen Duren, Jameel Brown and Justice Williams.
“He came to the tryouts with his mom and it was an eye-opening experience for him,” said Team Final director Rob Brown. “He was from out of State College [Pennsylvania], his mother obviously worked at Penn State, and he had never seen players like Jalen Duren or even Jameel Brown, who was a USA kid at the time, or Justice Williams in the gym. It was eye-opening for him, but it was something he needed.”
Lively was talented, as was Duren. But unlike the sculpted-for-his-age Duren, Lively needed time to develop. The gangly Lively was about to be a late bloomer.
“When Duren came to us in seventh grade, he was already physically gifted, like someone four or five years older than him,” Brown said. “For him, it was easy physically and athletically to impose his size on people. With Dereck, he wasn’t as developed, but you could still see, ‘Wow, this kid is going to be really, really good.’ He’ll be different than Jalen, but he’ll be good in his own way.”
When Lively entered high school at Westtown School in Chester, PA, he was off the radar due to injuries and then the COVID-19 pandemic. This gave him the opportunity to expand his game and burst onto the national scene during his junior season.
Dereck’s mother, Katherine Drysdale, was a Penn State basketball standout who scored more than 1,200 points and stood 6-foot-3. Her father, Derek Sr., was also tall.
“You knew he was going to continue to grow, but you didn’t know he was going to be 7 feet tall,” Brown said. “His game developed at his own pace.”
Towards the end of his junior season, Lively began to attract attention and made a big jump in the 247Sports rankings, from the top 50 to the top 25. Talk began that he could climb into the top 5 of the recruiting rankings – he I just needed time to prove it. Playing with Duren and acclaimed recruit Emoni Bates, his Team Final destroyed the Nike EYBL en route to winning the Peach Jam title, the most prestigious championship in the footwear circuit series. During that run, Lively has proven herself to be an elite defender, a top-notch rim protector, a lob catcher, and someone with the potential to stretch the floor (an element we have yet to see at the highest levels).
Everything he brought to the court had an impact on the victory, and it was a big reason why Duke coach Jon Scheyer put all his efforts into making the big man the jewel of what would be his first signing class. Lively continued his rise to the top of his class despite not being the prototypical star recruit who could go out and get 30 on any given night. However, due to reclassifications between Duren Bates and Shaedon Sharpe, Lively climbed near the top of the rankings and finished second in the 247Sports rankings for the class of 2022. Lively headlined a 2022 signing class that included five five-star prospects.
Along with the high expectations came another setback when Lively injured her foot early in Duke’s 2022-23 season. The injury persisted and affected Lively’s play (from November 30 to January 28, only once did Lively break more than 20 minutes per game).
“When you get hurt early in the year as a freshman, you go through real-time growing pains throughout the season,” Scheyer said. “Normally you go through them during the preseason, so I thought he showed incredible mental toughness just by sticking with it, learning what it takes at that level and obviously preparing him for the following year.”
Lively worked with then-assistant Amile Jefferson, himself a former Duke big man, to create daily habits to get back into shape. Jefferson is now an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics.
“He had an incredible workout routine that he developed with Amile,” Scheyer said. “He had an offensive routine and a defensive routine that he would do. He was consistent. We had several meetings where he just doubled down on what he needed to do and made no excuses. That’s what you love about him, and that’s why he improved.”
Most of Lively’s numbers during a year in Durham were a mixed bag. He averaged just 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, but he also blocked 82 shots, the fifth-most nationally and the 10th-most in a Duke single season. Lively was named to the 2023 All-ACC Tournament Team, the ACC All-Defensive Team and the ACC All-Freshman Team.
“What Dereck brings to the table is unlike anyone else,” Scheyer said. “He’s not a guy you throw the ball to to make shots, but he was the most impactful defender in the country at the end of the season.”
Getty Images
The Mavs selected Lively No. 12 in 2023 NBA Draft (it would go much higher in a revamp). He is one of five former five-star recruits on the Dallas roster, which also includes former Duke guard Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks are benefiting from Lively’s intangible assets.
Lively struggled in both Game 1 and Game 2 against Oklahoma City, but doubled down and found a way to turn the tide of the series and head to the Western Conference Finals.
“We wouldn’t win this series without (Lively),” Mavs star Luka Doncic said. “For a rookie who isn’t scared, it’s crazy how he plays… The way he impacts the game is just incredible.”
Lively’s father died young. Her mother, Kathy Drysdale, died of cancer just over a month ago, on April 12 after a decades-long battle. The tests Lively faces on the court — and Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert will be a big test Wednesday night in Minneapolis — are nothing compared to what he caused.
“He has a great personality, and you’re seeing parts of his father come out where he’s loud, in a very positive way,” Brown said. “When he catches a lob, he screams at the crowd. It’s contagious. Those are the plays he makes that almost change the momentum.
“When his mom got cancer, it changed to a different place. Where he used to play for inspiration — his mom was his inspiration because she fought so hard to overcome cancer — now he’s playing with a purpose.”
