Merriam-Webster dictionary reacts to Dereck Lively performance

Merriam-Webster dictionary showed love to Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively who helped the team beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs. On X (formerly known as Twitter), Merriam-Webster shared a post that said: “lively | adjective | quick to rebound.” The X account then responded with a photo from the dictionary that said “quick to rebound: Resilient” and “a lively ball” under it.

Lively pulled down 15 rebounds in the Mavericks 117-116 victory over the Thunder in Game 6 in the second round of the playoffs on Saturday night and will now play in the Western Conference Finals. He is in his first season in the NBA after being a standout defensive player at Duke last season.

pic.twitter.com/cXrGW6oDkx

— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 19, 2024

After the game on Saturday, Lively went to his Instagram Story to post an emotional message to his mother who died in April due to cancer. “Love u momma, miss u momma, just sit back n watch,” Lively wrote, per the New York Post.

Dereck Lively pays tribute to his mother

Before the Instagram Story post, Lively penned a message to his mother on his Instagram following her passing. “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,” he wrote. “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.”

He continued:  “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.”

Lively, 20, was selected No. 12 overall by the Thunder last year before being traded to the Mavericks. He played in 55 regular season games and averaged 8.8 points and 6.9 rebounds. In Lively’s one season at Duke, he averaged 5.4 points five rebounds and 2.3 blocks. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and the ACC All-Defensvie Team.

“We don’t win this series without D Live,” Mavericks star player Luka Doncic said during an on-court interview after the comeback win, per Duke Wire. “He’s been playing amazing. For a rookie, not being scared, it’s insane how he played, the way he impacts the game.”