Lively gained tons of attention and a much-deserved spotlight due to his playoff performances as a rookie. However, that's not expected to translate into much fantasy relevancy ahead of the 2024-25 season. Lively should see plenty of minutes in the Mavericks' frontcourt, but he's expected to open the campaign as Daniel Gafford's backup, and that role should limit his upside considerably. The big man out of Duke started in 42 of his 55 regular-season appearances as a rookie and averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists across 23.5 minutes per game. Meanwhile, his playoff numbers read 7.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks across 21.9 minutes per game off the bench. Essentially, this means Lively's role and productivity won't change much if he plays as a starter or off the bench. Backup centers aren't reliable options in fantasy, but given his upside and the fact that he's expected to see steady minutes, Lively could be an interesting alternative in the late rounds of most formats. He could end up being a solid value pick once it's all said and done, but only if he manages to steal the starting job off Gafford as the season progresses. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $9.79 million contract with the Mavericks in July of 2023. Contract includes $5.25 million team option for 2025-26.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
After a successful high school career as a five-star recruit who won Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year and was invited to the McDonald's All-American game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit in 2022, Dereck Lively II committed to Duke. During his lone freshman season, the center averaged 5.2 points on 65.8 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.4 blocks in 20.6 minutes while starting 24 of 34 appearances. He was named to both the ACC All-Freshman Team and ACC All-Defensive Team, with Lively recording at least five blocks on five occasions, and Duke won its conference tournament. Lively demonstrated at Duke that he's capable of being an easy lob target and defensive anchor with his long wingspan, and he may settle into a role as a traditional pick-and-roll big. He's mobile enough to guard some on the perimeter, which can be useful as part of a switching scheme or when things break down and he ends up guarding a ballhandler. The center is also a willing passer and could find cutters or three-point shooters in a system with heavy off-ball movement. A team thin at center could draft Lively to compete for a backup big role, so the Duke product may have an opportunity to see meaningful action out of the gate. Longer term, he could develop into a starter, especially if he blocks shots as expected and finds a point guard with great touch throwing alley-oops. His NBA comparison could vary based on how a team uses him, but there are shades of Nick Richards, Nic Claxton and Willie Cauley-Stein.
Quiet in Game 5 loss
CDallas Mavericks
June 18, 2024
Lively chipped in two points (1-2 FG), four rebounds and one block across 24 minutes during Monday's 106-88 loss to Boston in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
ANALYSIS Lively struggled playing on the road in the NBA Finals, accumulating six points and 16 rebounds in three games. However, Lively posted a double-double in both games in Dallas. This more closely resembled the rest of his successful playoff run, during which he averaged 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 blocks while shooting 66.7 percent in 16 games. Overall, the 20-year-old had a successful rookie season and will look to increase his production in Year 2.
2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2023 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2023
Stat Review
How does Dereck Lively compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
72.8%
Effective Field Goal %
74.7%
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.7%
Free Throw Rate
27.4%
Offensive Rebound %
11.5%
Defensive Rebound %
20.5%
Total Rebound %
16.0%
Assist %
6.4%
Steal %
1.2%
Block %
5.2%
Turnover %
11.2%
Usage %
0.0%
Fantasy Points Per Game
23.9
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.0
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Mavericks Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Dereck Lively was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
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2023 Fantasy Outlook
After a successful high school career as a five-star recruit, Lively committed to Duke. During his lone freshman season, the center averaged 5.2 points on 65.8 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 2.4 blocks in 20.6 minutes while starting 24 of 34 appearances. He was named to both the ACC All-Freshman Team and ACC All-Defensive Team. Lively demonstrated at Duke that he's capable of being an easy lob target and defensive anchor with his long wingspan, and he may settle into a role as a traditional pick-and-roll big. He's mobile enough to guard some on the perimeter, which can be useful as part of a switching scheme or when things break down and he ends up guarding a ballhandler. The center is also a willing passer, but that probably won't come in handy on a Mavericks team run by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. There's a big man log jam in Dallas, but it's not particularly talented. Lively should have an opportunity to jump into a role if he can prove to be as effective as Dwight Powell, Richaun Holmes, JaVale McGee or Maxi Kleber. It's unlikely he'll do enough as a rookie to warrant rostering in fantasy, but he's worth keeping an eye on.
More Fantasy News
Another double-double
CDallas Mavericks
June 14, 2024
Lively contributed 11 points (4-5 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 2-4 FT), 12 rebounds and one steal across 22 minutes during Friday's 122-84 victory over the Celtics in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
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Posts double-double in Game 3 loss
CDallas Mavericks
June 13, 2024
Lively finished with 11 points (5-6 FG, 1-1 FT), 13 rebounds, one assist and two steals in 30 minutes during Wednesday's 106-99 loss to Boston in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
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Muted impact in Finals
CDallas Mavericks
June 10, 2024
Lively registered two points (1-3 FG) and seven rebounds across 19 minutes during Sunday's 105-98 loss to the Celtics in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
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Productive in return
CDallas Mavericks
May 31, 2024
Lively posted nine points (3-3 FG, 3-6 FT), eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks over 25 minutes during Thursday's 124-103 win over Minnesota in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
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Available to play Thursday
CDallas Mavericks
May 30, 2024
Lively (neck) is available for Thursday's Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Timberwolves.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could start full time next season
CDallas Mavericks
July 8, 2024
The Mavericks believe Lively has the potential to become an elite defensive anchor, and he will likely be a major part of the starting lineup next season, Evan Sidery of Forbes Sports reports.
ANALYSIS Lively spent most of the 2023-24 season coming off the bench after the club acquired Daniel Gafford via trade. However, the Mavericks believe Lively could be an elite defender, similar to the likes of Kevin Garnett or Joakim Noah, and will likely move Gafford to the bench full time in favor of Lively. The 20-year-old is obviously still young, but the potential he showed in his rookie season is extremely promising. Lively averaged 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.1 assists and 0.7 steals over 55 regular-season games in which he shot 74.7 percent from the field.