Dallas Mavs Dereck Lively II 'Building Confidence' Ahead of Victor Wembanyama Matchup

After a 14-point performance against the Detroit Pistons in the Dallas Mavs' final game of the 2023 NBA preseason, Dereck Lively II spoke on his growth heading into his rookie year.

Following a 14-point, five-rebound performance in the Dallas Mavericks win over the Detroit Pistons Friday night in their preseason finale, it was obvious that rookie Dereck Lively II was comfortable in his first-ever game at American Airlines Center.

"[I’m] just trying to build confidence," he said. "You just try to use every play, use every possession and just use my teammates. These past couple of weeks, we’ve just been building chemistry, so it’s been making a lot of things easier."

The 19-year-old center shot 6-7 on the night, giving fans much to be excited for when it comes to his efficiency. Furthermore, his 14 points ended up being the highest point total the rookie has scored in a game since high school, his previous high was 13 points in two separate games for Duke last season.

After a 14-point, career-high outing against the Pistons in the Mavs’ final game of the 2023 preseason, Dereck Lively II now turns his attention to Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Lively has become a valuable option in the pick-and-roll with star point guard Kyrie Irving, as four of Lively's six field goals came off Irving assists. 

"There’s a lot of things that you’re always going to be told by a lot of different people from a lot of different pathways," Lively said when asked about his development as a rookie. "You just got to focus on just doing one thing every day. Try to get better at one thing. Today, we’re just trying to get better at just trying to stay in front of and mainly working on pick-and-roll coverages. [I’m] just making sure I’m in the right way, making sure I’m playing both and not letting the roller behind."

Lively will take the court for his first regular-season NBA game Wednesday night, where he will be matched up against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Although Lively will likely spend a lot of time on Wembanyama, Grant Williams stressed that the Mavs must defend the No. 1 overall pick with a full team effort to be effective.

“It's not going to be one person that [contains Wembanyama]," Williams told DallasBasketball.com. "We shouldn't be expecting [Dereck] Lively to be isolated and guarding him just by himself. We shouldn't expect Maxi [Kleber], myself or anybody to. The best teams are the ones who help one another."

The brightest lights will be on Doncic, Irving and Wembanyama, but keep an eye on the No. 12 pick in this year’s draft tomorrow night as well.

---