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Dereck Lively II, a 7'1″ big man from Duke University, is one of the more highly touted centers in the 2023 NBA Draft class. Lively II has scouts enamored, thanks to his tremendous defensive potential. He was arguably the best rim protector in the nation in his freshman year with the Blue Devils, as he averaged 2.4 blocks per game and an otherworldly 4.7 blocks per 40 minutes. Lively II's blend of great size and timing made him a constant threat to send shots back.
But while Lively II's uncanny knack for blocking shots may be his trademark skill, he's more than merely a shot-blocker. Lively II also rebounded the ball at a high level and scored efficiently for the Blue Devils, as he corralled 10.5 boards per 40 minutes and shot 65.8% from the field as a freshman.
For all of the good that Dereck Lively II does, though, he's not without his flaws. Namely, Lively II is a very raw offensive player. He shot just 15.4% from behind the three-point arc and 60% from the free-throw line. Hence, he's not very comfortable scoring the ball outside of the painted area just yet.
With all that said, let's look at the closest pro player comparisons for the top 2023 NBA Draft prospect:
2. Willie Cauley-Stein
Cauley-Stein is an eerily similar player to Lively II and in more ways than one. Firstly, they share a similar height and length. Cauley-Stein is listed as 7'0″ tall on the dot, while Lively II is listed as 7'1″. And Lively II has a 7'7″ wingspan while Cauley-Stein's wingspan is 7'3″.
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Beyond their measurables, Cauley-Stein and Dereck Lively II share commonalities stylistically. Most notably, like Lively II, Cauley-Stein's defining skill coming out of college was his shot-blocking chops. Across his three-year career at the University of Kentucky, Cauley-Stein averaged 2.2 blocks per game and was widely regarded as one of the best rim protectors in college basketball. He went high in the draft — sixth overall to the Sacramento Kings — because of his defensive potential.
But despite their similarities, Lively II's NBA career panning out like Cauley-Stein's would be a worst-case scenario. After playing well the first four seasons of his career with the Kings, the Kings dealt him, and his career went downhill from there. In fact, Cauley-Stein wasn't even on an NBA team during the 2022-23 season, so his pro career could already be over.
1. Walker Kessler
To be clear, it's unlikely that Lively II will become a player of Walker Kessler's caliber. Kessler put together arguably the second-best rookie season of anyone in the 2022 NBA Draft class, as he averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game with the Utah Jazz. It would be the best-case scenario for his career to pan out like Kessler's has so far.
But in order for this to happen, Lively II has to improve on the offensive end of the floor as a scorer. Coming out of college, Kessler wasn't some excellent scoring big man who dropped 20 points every night, but he was certainly a better scorer than Lively II was — he averaged 8.2 points per game in his year with Auburn compared to Lively II's 5.2 points average.
Only time will tell if Dereck Lively II will be remembered as a role player like Willie Cauley-Stein or a defensive star like Walker Kessler. But at least folks won't have to wait much longer to figure out what team Lively II is heading to, as the 2023 NBA Draft is on Thursday night.
