Dereck Lively II looked like the kind of center the Mavericks could build around almost immediately.
As a rookie, the No. 12 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft delivered 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 74.7 percent from the field. Dallas fans took to him fast, and for good reason: after the Mavericks missed the playoffs in 2023, he brought the kind of presence they badly needed.
What made that first season stand out went well beyond the box score. Lively II sprinted the floor, finished at a high level in the pick-and-roll, showed real passing touch out of the short roll and helped anchor the Mavericks’ NBA Finals defense as a 7-foot-1 20-year-old. He looked like he was learning on the fly and improving every time out.
The problem is that his future with Dallas has been tied to something he can’t really control.
Health has been the issue. Lively II played only 55 games in his rookie year because of various injuries, and his availability has only become more of a concern since then.
He has worked to stay healthy, but luck has not been on his side. Dallas’ former medical department misdiagnosed a stress fracture in his foot as an ankle sprain during his second season.
The injuries have piled up from there. Lively II played 36 games as a sophomore and just seven games in his third season. Early lower-body injuries are usually a warning sign for young big men, and that reality hangs over his development.
Still, the upside is obvious if he can stay on the floor.
At his best, Lively II looks like a high-level starter on a championship team. He was Dallas’ best center as a rookie, played real playoff minutes and showed flashes of star-level impact. His defensive versatility gives opponents problems, and his passing, along with his quiet shooting upside, made him look like one of the NBA’s most promising young bigs.
That’s what made his rookie season so special. He played like a veteran in moments that usually overwhelm young centers. The stage never seemed too big, he fit the team immediately and gave the Mavericks the kind of center play they had been searching for.
Two years after Dallas reached the NBA Finals, Lively II has played only 43 games since then. Injuries have slowed what could have been a much smoother rise, but if he becomes more durable, the Mavericks may already have their future starting center in place.
That would leave their young core centered around Cooper Flagg, Lively II, Morez Johnson Jr., Zaccharie Risacher and Max Christie. Given everything Dallas has been through over the last few years, that is a solid foundation. And Lively II still has a chance to become one of the franchise’s cornerstones if his body cooperates.
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