Dallas Mavs' Dereck Lively II Outshines Victor Wembanyama in 'More Than Expected' Rookie Debut
If you weren't paying attention to Dallas Mavericks rookie big man Dereck Lively II before Wednesday's 126-119 season-opening win over the San Antonio Spurs, you should be from this point on.
Despite Spurs No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama having most of the hype throughout the summer and preseason, it was Lively, the No. 12 overall pick out of Duke, who shined brightest between the two on Wednesday.
Lively, in 30 minutes off the bench, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7-8 from the field. He was also a team-high +20 in the boxscore plus/minus. Tim Hardaway Jr. had the second-highest plus/minus at +9.
Dallas Mavs' Dereck Lively II sizes up San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama.
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
"It was a lot more than I expected," Lively said of his exceptional debut. "They're a great team, it was a great crowd, lot of fans, lot of noise. But I feel like we just stuck together, we stuck to our principles ... and we came out with the win. We learned a lot."
So just how special was Lively's debut? He became just the second player ever with at least 15 points and 10 rebounds while also shooting at least 85 percent in an NBA debut. As a freshman at Duke, the most points Lively scored was 13 on two separate occasions, and he's already topped that in his first NBA game.
"I just try to go out there and take it play-by-play," Lively said. "If I get a bucket, that's what I'm happy about. If I get someone else a bucket, I'm even happier. I'm just out there to make sure the score goes up and make sure we come out with the win."
During the Las Vegas Summer League in July, Lively joined our Mavs Step Back Podcast and expressed his desire to "do the dirty work" in order to help out Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving as much as possible. Lively had no trouble accomplishing that goal in his first game, as he did an excellent job setting screens, playing great help defense, grabbing rebounds and finishing at the rim. Specifically, Lively enjoyed dominating in pick-and-rolls with Doncic, who ended up with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists – the first season-opening triple-double in team history.
"It's always been fun," Lively said of playing alongside Doncic. "I feel like we've been building chemistry, building trust with each other, and I feel like it's definitely been improving. I feel like each day, I learn a little bit more about his game, and I learn a little bit more about his pace, and try to match it. I try to make his job easy."
A lot has been made of Mavs legend Tyson Chandler taking Lively under his wing since the draft, and after Lively's NBA debut, you can see why. It's still early, but it certainly seems like the Mavs have found their franchise center for the foreseeable future. Next up, he'll make his official American Airlines Center debut on Friday as the Mavs take on the Brooklyn Nets.
