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
$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.
Won't return Tuesday
CDallas Mavericks
Ankle
January 14, 2025
Lively is out for the remainder of Tuesday's game versus the Nuggets due to a right ankle sprain. He will finish the contest with four points (2-3 FG) and one block in four minutes.
ANALYSIS Lively made it just four minutes into Tuesday's contest before spraining his right ankle. Daniel Gafford, Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell are now all candidates to receive increased playing time in Dallas' frontcourt. Lively's status for Wednesday's matchup with New Orleans is uncertain.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
Loading Split Stats...
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
Loading Split Stats...
Advanced Stats
Loading Advanced Stats...
2024
2023
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 %
70.4%
Effective Field Goal %
70.1%
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.0%
Free Throw Rate
39.0%
Offensive Rebound %
14.1%
Defensive Rebound %
20.8%
Total Rebound %
17.5%
Assist %
15.3%
Steal %
0.9%
Block %
6.2%
Turnover %
11.7%
Usage %
13.7%
Fantasy Points Per Game
27.9
Fantasy Points Per Minute
1.2
Loading Player Stat Review...
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
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.
Loading Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats...
NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
Loading Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats...
Historical ADP
Loading Historical ADP...
Mavericks Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
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.
Minutes
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
Loading Average Minutes...
Loading FanDuel Points...
Loading DraftKings Points...
Loading Yahoo Points...
Loading Head2Head Points...
Loading Sorare Points...
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Dereck Lively See More
Dan Bruno highlights the league's most efficient shooters, including big men, three-point marksmen and anomalies like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
Juan Carlos Blanco provides his analysis for Saturday's NBA slate. Is Cade Cunningham in store for a big performance?
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
Heads to locker room
CDallas Mavericks
Ankle
January 14, 2025
Lively exited Tuesday's game versus the Nuggets with 8:04 remaining in the first quarter due to an apparent right ankle injury, Noah Weber of TheSmokingCuban.com reports.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Blows up with double-double
CDallas Mavericks
January 10, 2025
Lively ended with 21 points (9-13 FG, 3-3 FT), 15 rebounds, one assist and three blocks in 35 minutes during Thursday's 117-111 victory over the Trail Blazers.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Efficient double-double in loss
CDallas Mavericks
January 6, 2025
Lively dropped 14 points (7-11 FG), grabbed 12 boards, blocked three shots and dished one assist in 33 minutes of play during Monday's 119-104 loss to the Grizzlies.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Well-rounded line in return
CDallas Mavericks
January 2, 2025
Lively (hip) finished with eight points (4-5 FG), six rebounds, six assists, four blocks and one steal across 20 minutes Wednesday in the Mavericks' 110-99 loss to the Rockets.
ANALYSIS Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Unlikely to be shopped
CDallas Mavericks
December 3, 2024
Lively is not expected to be made available ahead of the trade deadline, Michael Scotto of Hoopshype reports.
ANALYSIS Scotto reports that both Lively and Daniel Gafford have admirers around the NBA, but the Mavericks are content with keeping both centers. They will, however, be looking at upgrading the roster elsewhere. Lively is having a solid second season so far, appearing in 16 regular-season games with averages of 8.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks in 22.6 minutes.