2023 NBA Draft: Dereck Lively II’s Stock Is Surging

At the conclusion of the 2022 high school basketball season, Duke commit Dereck Lively II was ESPN’s top recruit heading into college. The 7-foot-1 center was best known for his versatile defensive prowess and floor-stretching ability.

Many questioned this ranking, opting to give the top spot to other guys such as fellow Blue Devil Dariq Whitehead, Arkansas Razorback Nick Smith Jr., and Villanova Wildcat Cam Whitmore.

Early in the season, Lively II really struggled to find the stride that had made him so highly touted in the first place. In the first 18 games of the season, he averaged 4.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 1.8 blocks in just 16 minutes per game. He didn’t make a single three this entire stretch.

However, in his 19th game of the season, an away match at Georgia Tech, he knocked in his first deep shot of the season. This conversion ignited a stellar end to the season. Over his 11 games, the big man notched an average statline of 6.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 3.1 blocks in 26 minutes, increases all across the board. He also drilled another shot from beyond the arc when Pitt came to Cameron Indoor Stadium.

His late season surge earned Lively II a guaranteed spot in the first round of next month’s NBA Draft. He even began to flirt with lottery discussions once again after falling out of them for quite a long stretch of time. Still, the Philadelphia native has some work to do to regain his old merit as a prospect. He’s been doing some of this recently in workouts, particularly with his three ball.

In his Klutch Sport pro day, Lively II cashed 14 straight threes, reminding evaluators of an aspect that once made him such a prized prospect.

7’1 Freshman Dereck Lively ( @DereckLively ) athleticism was very impressive at @KlutchSports pro day and he made 14 straight corner 3’s in front of 30 NBA Teams 😳 He also averaged 2.4 blocks in 20 minutes at Duke pic.twitter.com/SaTA1brIpz
— Swish Cultures (@swishcultures_) May 26, 2023

If Lively II can sell the shooting to NBA teams, there’s no telling why they shouldn’t be reaching to draft him in the lottery, or maybe even the top ten. A 7-foot-1 rim-protecting defensive dynamo who can finish plays with thunderous dunks, stretch the floor by draining threes, and has some intriguing fluidity has the potential to be a highly impactful player at the next level.

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