Duke freshman Dereck Lively II has announced he will enter his name in the 2023 NBA Draft.
In his rookie season in Durham, the 7-foot-1 freshman emerged as one of the ACC’s best defensive players. Lively finished with 82 blocked shots – five shy of the NCAA lead – to rank second in the ACC, eighth nationally and lead all Division I freshmen. Earning spots on the ACC All-Freshman Team, the ACC All-Defensive Team and a second-team All-ACC Tournament pick, Lively’s 82 blocks were second most by a Duke freshman in a single season and tied for the 10th most by any Duke player in a season. He registered at least one block in 32 of his 34 games played and had 23 games with multiple blocks, 10 with three or more and five with five or more.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to play at Duke,” said Lively. “Being a member of the Brotherhood is something I’ll always cherish. I learned and grew so much this season as both a player and person and I’m thankful for my coaches, my teammates – and especially my mom, who has meant so much to me — for everything. This season was all I could have imagined, and it was an honor to be part of an ACC title in Coach Scheyer’s first season. It was always a dream of mine to play for Duke, and now I’ll set my sights on my dream of playing in the league and declare for the NBA Draft. A special thank you to the Cameron Crazies, the best fans in the game, for the incredible support. These memories I have will last forever.”
The Philadelphia, Pa., native averaged 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and shot .658 from the field – the team’s second best field goal percentage and third best rebound average. The postseason saw Lively average 5.8 points on .765 shooting with 7.4 boards, 3.0 blocks and 1.6 assists. He swatted six shots in Duke’s NCAA First Round win over Oral Roberts — an NCAA Tournament record by a Duke freshman.
“It’s been an honor to coach Dereck Lively,” said head coach Jon Scheyer. “Dereck has had a special freshman season. He’s grown as much as any player that we’ve had from the beginning of the season to the end and it’s a reflection on the work he’s put into his craft. He’s the ultimate team guy. Any NBA franchise will be lucky to have a guy like Dereck because of what he brings to the table, of course from a basketball standpoint, but just as much as who he is as a teammate. I’m so proud of what he’s done and wish him, Kathy and his family the best as he takes the next step. He’s going to be great at the next level.”
Lively matched his career high with 13 points in Duke’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Pittsburgh. In a February win over North Carolina at Cameron Indoor, the freshman posted a monster 14-rebound, eight-block effort – a Duke record for blocks in a UNC game, the second-most blocks by a Duke freshman in any game all-time and the second most by any Division-I player this season. His career-high 13 points came on 6-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds and three blocks in a win over Virginia Tech in late February.
