Dereck Lively shines in Rising Stars Challenge

The Dallas big man gets his first (but certainly not his last) taste of All-Star weekend

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• on February 16, 2024 9:43 pm

Mavericks rookie center Dereck Lively II has been a breath of fresh air for Dallas so far this season. Averaging 9.2 points and 7.8 rebounds (2nd amongst rookies), Lively has made his presence known on the professional level on several occasions. That trend continued Friday night, but this time as a participant on Team Jalen in the Rising Stars Challenge during All-Star Weekend.

Team Jalen got off to a slow start to the tune of an 11-2 deficit as Team Tamika was feasting in the paint, but everything changed as soon as Lively checked in for his first appearance.

Coming off a screen, Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams immediately lobbed the ball to an open Lively as he slammed down his first two point of the game, finishing with six points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting in seven minutes. It’s the little things about his game that just makes sense. Announcers on call agree as well.

“You can’t turn on intensity”, said NBA legend Jamal Crawford.

“If you play with effort, your time to shine will come”, said future Hall of Famer Candace Parker.

“Lively just has a knack for the ball”, said host Adam Lefkoe.

What Lively does so well that most rookie big men struggle with is making themselves available at all times. This was on display again as Williams found Lively for his second bucket of the game that came via another lob.

On his third and final bucket of the night, Lively caught a miss from Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin and stuffed it back in the rim. Aside from dominating in the paint, you could hear Lively calling out defensive assignments as if it was a regualr season game.

Lively’s impact is not to be mistaken. Team Jalen mounted a 17-6 rally after his first appearance that eventually led them to victory behind Mathurin’s game-leading 18 points.

After propelling Team Jalen to the Rising Stars Championship, Lively had another six-point outing where he did not miss (3-for-3), helping Team Jalen defeat Team Detlef, 26-13.

Look for the young center to continue to dazzle in the second half of the 2023-24 NBA season.

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