While the stats may not have been up to par in his first season at Duke, Derek Lively II certainly showed his pedigree as a player in his rookie season with the The Dallas Mavericks in 2023-24, averaging 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists per game in 23.5 minutes played.
The real statistic that stands out for Lively II is his 74.7% shooting percentage. If he had qualified for league-wide field goal percentage rankings, he would have been first overall in the NBA in that category (interestingly, the league leader was his frontcourt teammate). Daniel Gaffordwith a sterling of 72.7% itself). According to Sports SynergyLively II was in the 98th percentile in shooting efficiency at an impressive 1.52 points per shot.
The All-Rookie selection certainly had impressive numbers, but his impact goes far beyond what he put on the stat sheet. Having true bigs like Lively II as well as Gafford opened things up a lot for the Mavericks and Luka Doncicespecially in pick-and-roll situations, where the duo was among the best in the NBA at converting those attempts.
Luka Doncic saw his assists increase from 8.0 to 9.8 per game from 2022-23 to 2023-24, and obviously, Lively II’s presence as a right-hand man had a lot to do with that. But Doncic also saw his points increase, which can be partly attributed to the rookie center’s ability to set screens.
Doncic’s screen goals aren’t new, but what was new last season was Lively II’s “decoy” effect. Given Lively II’s effectiveness, due in part to his size and dexterity in catching the ball, bigs can no longer come in to defend the ball carrier, or “blitz,” at least not without major risk.
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Lively II’s lob-catching prowess forces opposing bigs to respect him at the rim, giving Doncic more opportunities to battle one-on-one with the players defending him. Considering that Dallas’ star point guard is arguably the best isolation player in the NBA, and most teams don’t have a breadth of Jayson Tatum guys who can pass from the post to him effectively, this pick-and-roll pairing is extremely difficult to stop.
In addition to the headaches he creates for defensive units when playing with an elite primary point guard like Doncic or Kyrie IrvingLively II is an elite defensive player, one of the best in the league not only at blocking shots (1.4 per game) or creating turnovers using his length (0.7 steals per game), but also being a major deterrent to shots near the basket.
As a team, the Mavericks have moved from 21st in the NBA in defensive rating in 2022-23 to sixth in 2023-24, and much of their playoff success has come from that renewed focus on the defensive end, as well as a massive personnel upgrade at center with their rookie (as well as Gafford).
While individual defensive rating is a flawed statistic, it’s worth noting that Lively II had the second-highest rating on the team among qualified players, and that was in his first year. Defense is generally something that takes longer to develop, especially with bigs, but Lively II’s instincts are clearly among the best in his draft class, which is part of the reason he finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.
Overall, his impact on both ends of the floor makes him one of the best draft picks the Mavericks have made in recent years. Credit Nico Harrison for the movements he made.
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