Dallas Mavericks Rising Star Wants to 'Own the Paint'

The second-year player from Duke talked about his expectations for his game moving forward

Dec 2, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) In action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

When the Dallas Mavericks traded down in the 2023 NBA Draft to acquire Dereck Lively II, they had no idea he'd be as good as he was immediately. They expected him to spend some time in the G-League as he developed but his rim protection and threat as a lob-catcher opened the offense up for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Lively played in 55 games as a rookie, missing some games due to various injuries, but averaged 8.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.4 BPG while playing just 23.5 MPG. That was good enough to land on the All-Rookie Second Team. Had it not been for the Thunder's Chet Holmgren essentially having a "redshirt" year, missing his first year with a foot injury so his second season became his rookie year, Lively would've been on the First Team.

Last weekend, Lively took assistant coach Sean Sweeney to Duke for "Pro Devils Weekend" to work out and someone at Duke asked the rising star what he's been working on this summer.

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"I’m just trying to be more dominant when it comes to the paint," Lively said. "Strength’s definitely No. 1; working on my handle. You know, everyone wants to see me shoot, but I wanna own the paint before I can shoot threes."

Dereck Lively has shown progression with his shooting, hitting a three-pointer in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the Celtics, and raising his free-throw percentage to 62.5% over the final three rounds of the playoffs after shooting 50.9% in the regular season. He knows that his career will be defined by paint protection though, as players like Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama are set to be in the same conference for years to come.

Lively should be in line for a starting role this year but will still split minutes with Daniel Gafford, who the Mavs acquired at last season's trade deadline. Gafford was an integral piece in turning the Mavericks into a defensive monster at the end of the regular season, but Lively had the team's best offensive and defensive rating in the playoffs. The two will continue to be a perfect rotation for Doncic and Irving to throw lobs either way.

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