Oklahoma City Thunder select Dereck Lively II in 2023 NBA Draft, immediately trade him to Dallas Mavericks

The Oklahoma City Thunder have drafted former Duke C Dereck Lively II in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft. As part of an earlier trade, he will head to the Dallas Mavericks immediately.

During the 2022-2023 season, the 7-foot-1 big man established himself as one of the nation’s elite rim protectors, averaging 2.4 blocks per game. He also became the third player in ACC history to record 10 rebounds and six blocks in his NCAA Tournament debut.

His most impressive performance of the season came against North Carolina on Feb. 4. Lively dominated the paint, swatting eight blocks and hauling in 14 rebounds in the Blue Devil’s 63-57 win. His eight blocks is the most ever by a Duke player against the Tar Heels.

In total, Lively averaged 5.2 points on 65.8 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.1 assists in just under 21 minutes per game. He started in 24 of his 34 appearances in his lone season with the Blue Devils.

Coming out of Westtown School (Bellefonte, Pennsylvania), Lively was the highest-rated prospect in the country in the 2022 cycle. According to the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was rated as the No. 1 overall player in America and a five-star prospect.

What NBA Draft experts are saying about Dereck Lively II

Lively’s NBA Draft scouting report expects him to be slotted with a team thin on big men, which means he has a chance to play legitimate minutes right away during his rookie season. If his blocking ability translates to the league, and he gets paired with a point guard that has a soft touch on alley-oops, Lively could be a starter before we know it.

“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 3-point shooters in a system with heavy off-ball movement,” the NBA Draft scouting report writes.

The report compares Lively most to Nick Richards, Nic Claxton and Willie Cauley-Stein, though leaves the interpretation open depending on which team ended up drafting him.