Previous NBA players try to make assessing rookies easier by comparing them to legends that came before them. This year's NBA Draft is no different for Jason Kidd's Dallas Mavericks as Dereck Lively II got his fair share of comparisons. The most prominent of which was when Michael Finley compared the Duke basketball center to Tyson Chandler.
The Mavericks president made some points as he compared Dereck Lively II to Tyson Chandler in a statement, via Grant Afseth of Sports Illustrated.
“He kind of reminded me of a younger Tyson Chandler. That’s unfair, but if he continues to grow, and improve in areas that I think he needs to improve in, that would be a comparison that would be fair for him as his career goes on,” Michael Finley said.
Days later, coach Jason Kidd responded to the comparisons that the Duke basketball star drew, per Callie Caplan of Dallas News.
“Tyson’s going to be mad, but he probably shoots the ball a little bit better than Tyson,” the Mavericks coach hilariously declared.
The comparison might not be far off. Dereck Lively II totaled 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in his 2022-23 stint with Duke basketball. Tyson Chandler, on the other hand, racked up averages of 8.2 points per game and 9 total rebounds in 1,160 games played for his career.
However, Jason Kidd could be right as the Mavericks rookie shot more efficiently by knocking down 65.8% of his shots from the field. Tyson Chandler only notched a 59.7% field goal percentage for his career.
The NBA Draft makes for hilarious comparisons. Will this one stand the test of time?
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