Dallas Mavs' Dereck Lively II Posts Touching Tribute to His Mom, Kathy Drysdale, Who Passed Away

Dereck Lively II and his mom, Kathy Drysdale had one of the most heartwarming stories of this Dallas Mavericks' season. On Friday, Lively had to say goodbye to

Dallas Mavericks, Mavs.com

You could argue that no one had a mother-and-son bond quite as strong as the one Kathy Drysdale and Dereck Lively II had. As Drysdale fought cancer for more than a decade, she did so while also being there for Lively as he took each new step in his basketball career.

On Friday, the Dallas Mavericks big man made an emotional, heartfelt tribute to his mom, who unfortunately passed away due to her battle with cancer.

"My heart breaks saying goodbye to the most important person in the world to me, my best friend, my superhero, my biggest cheerleader and mom, Kathy Drysdale. There is no one in this world that can love you more than your mother. As strong and stubborn as she is I have watched her struggle, fight and survive cancer for the past 11 years and now her battle has ended surrounded by family, friends and her teammates. I truly can’t imagine my life without her but I know I have an angel in the stands always and forever cheering my one and yelling at me if I’m bull--------," Lively posted to his Instagram account.

Dereck Lively, Instagram

"My mom was a beautiful soul, loved by every person who crossed her path and by every team I have played for from Team Final to West Town to Duke to the Mavericks. Thank you to Dr. Hall and the incredible nurses and team at UT Southwestern Hospital, and to the Mavericks for their constant support without them I wouldn’t have had these final precious moments. I love u and will always miss u as well , just know I’ll be ok mom. Fly high. (Expletive) cancer."

Dereck Lively, Instagram

Lively has missed the Mavs' last six games due to knee soreness. Before the Dallas' game against the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, head coach Jason Kidd addressed Lively's injury and the passing of Drysdale.

“Incredible woman. We talk about D-Live’s mom — incredible,” Kidd said. “As much as we talk about his injury, he had other things that were going on, and the world will know about his mom's passing, but D-Live this morning wanted to get back into the swing of coming to work.

"He spoke to the team before, which was incredible for a 20-year-old to talk about what he was going through off the court, not just with the injury, but with his mom, and then shortly after that, his mom passed. Just incredible of who Derek Lively is as a young man to talk to the team.”

The Mavs also released an official statement this evening:

“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken by this loss. On behalf of our organization and our team, we would like to send our heartfelt condolences to the entire Drysdale family who are faced with an unimaginable loss. So much of Kathy, her strength, tenacity, and joy, is reflected in her son. She left an indelible mark on each of us within the Dallas Mavericks organization and all those who were fortunate enough to spend time with her. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dereck and his entire family.”

From everyone here at DallasBasketball.com, our thoughts and prayers go out to Lively and his family as they mourn and navigate through this difficult time.