Dallas Mavericks' Dereck Lively II Named to NBA All-Rookie Second Team

The rookie out of Duke had a tremendous first season and has been rewarded for it

Apr 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) reacts after dunking / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II has been named to the NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team, per the NBA. He received the sixth-most voting points after averaging 8.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.4 BPG this season, though his impact was felt beyond his statistics.

The 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Rookie Second Team:

▪️ Keyonte George of @utahjazz
▪️ GG Jackson II of @memgrizz
▪️ Dereck Lively II of @dallasmavs
▪️ Amen Thompson of @HoustonRockets
▪️ Cason Wallace of @okcthunder pic.twitter.com/1QaumdqzYo

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 20, 2024

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Lively, who spent one season at Duke in college, is the first Dallas Maverick to be named to an All-Rookie team since Luka Doncic won Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2019. Had this award taken postseason success into effect, Lively likely would've placed higher, as he had a tremendous series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, including 12 points and 15 rebounds in the close-out Game 6, while finishing has a +71 for the series.

Dereck Lively II finished behind San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren, Charlotte's Brandon Miller, Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Golden State's Brandin Podziemski. He was on the second team with Houston's Amen Thompson, Utah's Keyontae George, Oklahoma City's Cason Wallace, and Memphis' GG Jackson. Below is the full voting count.

The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Rookie Team: pic.twitter.com/XNBPruS5FO

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 20, 2024

The Mavericks acquired Lively in a trade on draft night with the Thunder, moving back from 10 to 12 while offloading the Davis Bertans contract so OKC could move up and get Cason Wallace. They then used the trade exception acquired in that trade to get back into the late first round and take Olivier Maxence-Prosper, who played well for the Texas Legends, Dallas' G-League affiliate. Lively was originally supposed to be brought along slowly, with the staff thinking he'd need to spend time in the G-League to develop, but he quickly asserted himself as a necessary part of the rotation.

Lively had been playing well down the stretch of the season before a knee injury in March kept him out for the remainder of the regular season. He was moved to the bench in favor of Daniel Gafford, who the Mavericks acquired at the trade deadline, and has taken his new role in stride as he dominates the glass against backup bigs.

Luka Doncic has enjoyed having Lively as a lob threat on the interior over the centers Dallas has had in the past, and pairing him with Gafford has only made it easier for Doncic. Following Game 6 against OKC, Doncic even said the following regarding Lively: "He was amazing... He’s doing this while being a rookie, he has unbelievable potential and I’m just glad the Mavs drafted him.”

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