After the death of his mother, Derek Lively II found refuge with the Mavericks

The arrival of Derek Lively II at the Draft did the Mavericks a lot of good. The pivot is thus one of the good surprises of the last vintage and many point to the maturity of the rookie, which is astonishing for a player of barely 20 years old. A maturity built during a life that was not always easy…

At the age of seven, Derek Lively II lost his father. Addicted to hard drugs, Derek Lively Sr. died of an overdose. And at the very end of the regular season, it was the basketball player's mother, Kathy Drysdale, who died of cancer. While injured, Derek Lively II accompanied his mother's last moments.

His mother but also his advisor

“My mother was on her deathbed and she shrugged her shoulders as if nothing had happened”, says the rookie. “She told me, 'I'm fine.' Seeing that attitude, seeing that courage in her, it made me realize, 'All right, I have to keep going.' She passed the torch to me and I need to make sure I continue to carry it now. »

Long alone to raise her son, Kathy Drysdale also greatly influenced him on the basketball courts. She herself had played at the university level, for Pennsylvania State, as a pivot. And it was she who instilled the state of mind that now inhabits Derek Lively II on the pitch.

“My mother always taught me that the important thing is not the number of points you score”explains the 12th in the 2023 Draft. “But rather try to fill each statistical category, try to steal a ball, block two shots, grab eight rebounds, make four assists. And then score 10 points. »

The Mavericks family

Now deprived of both his parents, when he has barely turned twenty, the former Duke took refuge with his team. “ I'm not with my teammates » affirms the pivot but “ I am with my family“. It was therefore with his new family that he wanted to share the death of his mother and the ordeal he was going through.

“I just wanted to make sure my teammates knew what was going on.”indicated the pivot on the day of his mother's death. “Because there have been times where I'm not as happy, I'm not as loud, I don't laugh as much, I don't dance, I don't do all these things. »

But for Derek Lively II, the grounds are truly a sanctuary. “It’s the only place I can go and have a smile” he explains. “We are playing a game that I have loved since my childhood. When I dribble and the ball leaves my hand, I know it's going to come back. It's like when I talk with my teammates, I know that I can trust them and that they will return the energy that I give them. »

To perpetuate what his mother passed on to him. “It's hard, really… It's hard, just… not to turn the page, because you can't pretend like nothing happened. But you have to be able to move forward. This is what my mother would want me to do. That's what she did all her life.” concludes Derek Lively II.

How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.