Dereck Lively: The Rising American NBA Star Set to Challenge European Dominance in the League

It can be seen from the learning curve and pace of growth that Dereck Lively has strong fundamental skills, golf IQ, flexibility and vision. This puts his abilities on a par with the European top men who currently dominate the league, which is very similar to the future of homegrown players in the United States.

Looking back at NBA history, the center position is mostly dominated by talented American players. But in recent years, it is clear that the No. 4 and No. 5 positions have been dominated by European players.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece and Nikola Jokic of Serbia have won five of the MVP votes in the last six years. In addition to this, there is a long list of excellent European big men who have played important roles in their teams, such as Domantas Sabonis, Mo Wagner, Jonas Valanciunas, Kristaps Porzingis, Jusuf Nurkic, Alperen Sengun and Lauri Markkanen, and even a French Genius Victor Wembanyama.

That being said, judging by Lively’s performance over the past year, along with some other talented young American men, that may be about to change.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Lively is currently one of the strongest and most interesting big men in this draft. Entering his second year, he and fellow American Chet Holmgren are showing signs of a big country man’s resurgence and becoming one of the few young players with a chance to grab the spotlight. from European players.

In the Dallas Mavericks’ first warm-up game, Lively looked like the star of the team. With Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson out, he was given more space and opportunities than usual to control the game.

In this game, we saw his amazing performance. In that moment that caused a sensation in the league and surprised fans and the media, he completed a full-court fast break and finished “2 + 1” with a conversion action. We saw flashes of Giannis in this offense, as Lively showed his ability to handle the ball on the fast break and finish with confidence.

Always changing https://t.co/nbd8QNaWyB pic.twitter.com/vgnpusDTJZ

— Panda Hank (@pandahank41) October 8, 2024

Most people agree that one of the reasons European players are successful in the NBA is because they have good fundamentals. In Europe, big men handle the ball with guards, which improves their vision, as we have seen with players like Jokic, Sabonis and Wembanyama.

When Lively drives the ball and decides to finish himself like Giannis, he looks like a player who grew up in Europe.

He then showed off a low post move that was undoubtedly the result of training with his mentor, Mavericks legend Tyson Chandler. After receiving the ball in the penalty area, he set up and scored easily against three defenders. The two trained together this summer, and Chandler interacted frequently with the team and Lively over the past year, which led to a strong friendship between them.

Look at Derek Lively in the mail! pic.twitter.com/fzuxsVMpU0

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 8, 2024

None of these actions happened last season, which shows Lively’s ability to grow very quickly. We have seen his game improve last season to a level that very few players can achieve.

Beyond that, Lively remains a strong defensive anchor for a competitive team, showing no sign of fear even on the fringes and against experienced big men. In general, we can usually tell who is the boss of defense by talking about the field. Lively is constantly calling the shots in the penalty area, reminding his teammates of their defensive position and where to provide help. These clips are a good example:

Dereck Lively II in just 13 minutes:

12 PTS
3 REB
2 AST
2 STLS
5/5 FG

Leap Year 2 is upon us pic.twitter.com/87bhsZrgyc

— Coopz (@coopz___) October 8, 2024

When discussing competitiveness and impact starting on the defensive end, Mavericks and Jason Kidd management said it all comes down to whether there is a defensive leader who has vision and knows how to communicate. Without this, it will be very difficult for the Mavericks to play their defensive system. This emphasizes how important Lively is to this team.

As the league increasingly emphasizes high IQ and vision, Dereck Lively’s skill set stands out. European players have come a long way by playing smart, but the new generation of American big men have the opportunity to play with and learn from some of the smartest players like Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving With players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a revival of American greats may be just around the corner.