Dereck Lively

20-Year-Old CenterC
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Lively gained tons of attention and a much-deserved spotlight due to his playoff performances as a rookie. However, that may not translate into much fantasy relevancy ahead of the 2024-25 season. Lively should see plenty of minutes in the Mavericks' frontcourt, and he's expected to push Daniel Gafford for the starting gig. Lively started 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, in the playoffs, the Duke product posted 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 he's expected to see steady minutes, Lively could be an interesting alternative in the late rounds of most formats. Lively could end up being a solid value pick once it's all said and done, but to do that, he'll likely need to win the starting job and play 25-plus minutes per game. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Current Season
From Preseason
#120
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $9.79 million contract with the Mavericks in July of 2023. Mavericks exercised $5.25 million team option for 2025-26 in October of 2024. Contract includes $7.24 million team option for 2026-27.
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.

Will remain in starting role
CDallas Mavericks
November 16, 2024
Lively will remain in the starting role "for the next couple of games," head coach Jason Kidd told media, including Landon Thomas of Mavs Fans For Life, in his post-game press conference following Saturday's win over the Spurs. "We'll see how D Live handles these next couple of games as a starter, and then we'll figure out who will start after that. But, D Live has been great."
ANALYSIS
Lively got the start in Saturday's win over the Spurs and posted seven points, four rebounds, two assists and four blocks across 20 minutes. Even though Daniel Gafford outplayed him with a 22-point, seven-rebound, three-block effort in only 18 minutes, it seems Lively will stay with the first unit for now. There's no timetable for Kidd to make a definitive decision on who will be the starting center going forward -- assuming he'll make one at some point.
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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 %
69.7%
 
Effective Field Goal %
71.0%
 
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.0%
 
Free Throw Rate
51.6%
 
Offensive Rebound %
13.3%
 
Defensive Rebound %
19.5%
 
Total Rebound %
16.5%
 
Assist %
12.7%
 
Steal %
1.3%
 
Block %
6.3%
 
Turnover %
12.0%
 
Usage %
14.4%
 
Fantasy Points Per Game
25.4
 
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.1
 
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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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Mavericks Depth Chart
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Mavericks Rotation: Minutes Breakdown
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Average Fantasy Points
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.
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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
Getting starting nod vs. Jazz
CDallas Mavericks
November 14, 2024
Lively will enter the starting lineup in Thursday's game against the Jazz, Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Splits minutes with Gafford in return
CDallas Mavericks
November 13, 2024
Lively (shoulder) recorded 12 points (4-6 FG, 4-7 FT), eight rebounds, two assists and one block across 24 minutes during Tuesday's 120-117 loss to Golden State.
ANALYSIS
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Available to play Tuesday
CDallas Mavericks
November 12, 2024
Lively (shoulder) will be available for Tuesday's game against the Warriors, Kevin Gray Jr. of AllDLLS.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Could return Tuesday
CDallas Mavericks
Shoulder
November 11, 2024
Lively (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Tuesday's game against Golden State.
ANALYSIS
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Making progress
CDallas Mavericks
Shoulder
November 11, 2024
Lively (shoulder) practiced Monday and hopes to play Tuesday versus the Warriors, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could open season in starting role?
CDallas Mavericks
October 2, 2024
Lively could begin the 2024-25 season as the Mavericks' starting center, head coach Jason Kidd told reporters Monday. "We'll probably start D-Live with the first group and see how that goes," according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
ANALYSIS
Daniel Gafford was the starting center for the Mavericks since being acquired from the Wizards via trade before the deadline last season. However, it seems Lively has a realistic chance to overtake the veteran for that role this fall. Lively had some big moments during the Mavericks' run to the 2024 NBA Finals, and it wouldn't be shocking if the Duke product pushes Gafford to a bench role. Lively averaged 7.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 blocks per game across 21 playoff appearances for Dallas in 2024.
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