MINNEAPOLIS — Dereck Lively II is headed to All-Star Weekend.
The Mavericks’ rookie center on Tuesday was selected as one of the rookie representatives for the Panini Rising Stars Game on Feb. 16.
Lively joins fellow big men Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio and Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City in a star-studded group of centers selected for the game.
The pool of players for the Rising Stars Game has 11 rookies, 10 second-year players chosen by NBA assistant coaches and seven G League Ignite players selected by the league office.
Lively was the No. 12 overall pick in the 2023 draft. Among rookies, he ranks first in field-goal percentage (.739) second in rebounds (7.9), third in blocks (1.4) and ninth in scoring (9.2). His selection came the day after he suffered a broken nose in Monday’s 131-129 win over the Orlando Magic.
All-Star Weekend will be in Indianapolis and the Friday night festivities will be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Following is the full news release from the Mavericks.
DALLAS – The NBA announced today that Mavericks center Dereck Lively II was selected to compete in the 2024 Panini Rising Stars game at All-Star 2024 in Indianapolis. The competition will take place on Friday, Feb. 16, at Gainbridge Field House, airing live on TNT at 7:30 p.m. CT.
Lively is the first Maverick to be named to the Rising Stars game since five-time All-Star Luka Dončić was a participant in 2019 and 2020.
Among rookies, the 12th-overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft ranks first in field goal percentage (.739), second in rebounds (7.9 rpg), third in blocks (1.39 bpg), seventh in minutes (26.0 mpg) and is tied for ninth in scoring (9.2 ppg).
Lively opened the season with his first-career double-double (16 pts/10 reb) at San Antonio on Oct. 25. He scored his career high of 20 points (9-9 FG) with a career-high 16 rebounds, seven blocks and one steal vs. Oklahoma City on Dec. 2, becoming the first rookie in NBA history in the shot clock era to record a 20-point, 15-rebound game with a 100% field goal percentage. He has since matched his career-high 20 points at Phoenix on Christmas Day and vs. Orlando on Jan. 29. He is the second rookie in NBA history to have multiple games of 20 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 88.9 percent from the field or better (Buck Williams). Lively has posted eight double-doubles this season, 16 games with 10-plus points, 13 games with 10-plus rebounds and 14 games with multiple blocks.
The player pool for the 2024 Rising Stars game consists of 11 NBA rookies and 10 second-year NBA players, which were selected by NBA assistant coaches, as well as seven NBA G League players, chosen by the league office. The coaches were required to vote for four frontcourt players, four guards and two additional players at either position, in order of preference. Coaches were not permitted to vote for any player on their team.
X: @ESefko
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