Duke freshman Dereck Lively II says NBA teams will be ‘surprised’ by what he brings

Duke freshman Dereck Lively II plans to be a different player in the NBA than he was at Duke.

The 7-foot-1, 230-pound Philadelphia native was ranked as the nation’s No. 1 high school recruit in the 2022 class by ESPN, but his NBA Draft stock fell due to underwhelming production in his lone season with the Blue Devils.

“I believe my game translates because I can guard one through five, I can run the floor, I can space the floor out,” Lively, 19, said at the NBA Draft Combine, where he met with teams but did not participate in 5-on-5.

“I wasn’t shooting at Duke but ... just because you don’t think I can shoot, I can shoot the ball. I think everybody is going to be surprised by that this coming season and I just gotta make a name for myself.”

Lively met at the NBA Draft Combine here this week with the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trail Blazers. He’s now projected as the No. 25 pick in the June 22 Draft by ESPN.com (to the Grizzlies) and No. 20 by Tankathon (to the Houston Rockets).

He averaged 5.2 points on 66% shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks at Duke. He shot just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from beyond the arc during the entire season at Duke and reached double-figures in just five games.

“At Duke, I put myself into a role, kind of doing anything it takes to win,” Lively said. “I didn’t care about my points or the way I was viewed. I just wanted to win. I just do whatever I can to win, and to do that I needed to be the best defensive force. I had to be the best backup and I just had to be the clean-up man so that was my job and what was my role.”

ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony says Lively has the potential to be a different player in the NBA because “he’s 19 years old right now, he’s at a very early stage of physical development, his offensive game is a major work in progress, so for him to have the kind of NBA career he wants to have, he’s going to have to develop different parts of his game and put some weight on his frame. That’s going to be the big thing for him.

“He got pushed around a lot at Duke, especially early in the season, but you can’t argue with the shot-blocking ability that he brings,” Givony said Friday in a conference call. “He’s probably the best rim-protector in this draft — five blocks per 40 minutes — (has) the ability to cover ground on the perimeter and he’s that switchable big man that everybody’s looking for. That’s really intriguing.”

Lively was known for making 3s occasionally on the Nike EYBL circuit, but Duke coach Jon Scheyer obviously didn’t employ him that way.

“He was a 60% free throw shooter this past year so he has work to do on that part of his game before that becomes consistent,” Givony said.

“I know the way Jon Scheyer likes to play. If Dereck Lively could stretch the floor consistently for him, he would have given him that freedom to do it. I think he showed that in very minor flashes this year, but I think that’s the thing that a lot of players get better at.”

Now that he’ll be out of college and focused exclusively on his career, Lively is ready to work solely on his craft.

“I’m going to bring a lot of effort,” he said. “I’m going to be the most coachable player out there, being able to bring my talk, my size, my athleticism, I’m going to rebound, run the floor. I’m going to guard one through five and I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.”

He’s looking forward to testing himself against the NBA’s best big men.

“I’m really just looking forward to seeing who the best of the best is,” he said. “Put myself up against the greatest and see how far I gotta work to get there.”

Still, he said he was intrigued by the possibility of returning to Duke and “tempted” by potential NIL possibilities. He would have played alongside returning players Kyle Filipowski, who likely would have been a first-round pick had he entered the draft, Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell. Duke is also bringing in the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in 2023.

Duke could be the preseason No. 1 team and will be among the favorites to win the national championship.

“They definitely will,” Lively said. “I think they will and I’m putting my money on them.”