Though the stats may not have popped off the page in his freshman season at Duke, one-and-done Dereck Lively II certainly showed off his pedigree as a player in his rookie season with 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 stat that sticks out for Lively II is his shooting percentage of 74.7% – had he qualified for league-wide field goal percentage rankings, he would have been first overall in the NBA in this category (interestingly enough, the league leader was his fellow front-court mate Daniel Gafford, with a sterling 72.7% himself). According to Synergy Sports, Lively II was in the 98th percentile in efficiency at the rim with a blistering 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 so much for the Mavericks and Luka Doncic, especially in pick-and-roll situations, where the duo were amongst the best in the NBA at converting these attempts.

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Luka Doncic saw an increase in assists from 8.0 to 9.8 per game from 2022-23 to 2023-24, and obviously, Lively II’s presence as a roll man had a lot to do with this. But Doncic also saw an increase in points, part of which can be attributed to the rookie center’s ability as a screener.

Doncic’s scoring off of screens is nothing new, but what was new last season was the “decoy” effect that Lively II has. Given Lively II’s aforementioned efficiency, partially due to his size and dexterity in catching the ball, bigs can no longer come up and guard the ball handler, 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, which gives Doncic more opportunities for one-on-ones with players guarding him. Considering Dallas’ superstar point guard is inarguably the top isolation player in the NBA, and that most teams don’t have an array of Jayson Tatum types that can switch from the post onto him effectively, this pick-and-roll pair is extremely difficult to stop.

In addition to the headaches he creates for defensive units when playing with an elite primary ball handler like Doncic or Kyrie Irving, Lively II is an elite defensive player, one of the best in the league not just at blocking shots (1.4 per game) or creating live-ball turnovers using his length (0.7 steals per game), but also at being a major deterrent of shots near the rim.

As a team, the Mavericks went from 21st in the NBA in defensive rating in 2022-23 to sixth in 2023-24, and a major part of their playoff success came from this renewed focus on the defensive end, as well as a massive upgrade in personnel at the center position with their rookie (as well as Gafford).

Though individual defensive rating is a flawed stat, it should be noted that Lively II had the second-best score on the team amongst qualified players, doing so as a first-year player. Typically, defense is something that takes more time to develop, especially with bigs, but Lively II’s instincts are clearly amongst the best in his draft class, 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 the last several years. Credit Nico Harrison for the moves he’s made.

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