[autotag]Dereck Lively[/autotag] might be getting social media love for his recent postseason form, but the rookie made his priorities clear on Sunday.
With the Dallas Mavericks set to battle the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals beginning on Thursday, Lively spoke to the media and reinforced that his box score isn’t weighing on his mind.
“I’m here to win games,” Lively said. “I’m not here to care about how many points I put on the board, how many rebounds I put on the board, how many times I start in a game.”
Lively said teammate Daniel Gafford shares the mindset and added that he thinks his teammates trust the duo enough to free them up on the perimeter.
Despite Lively not caring about his stats, they’ve still been impressive in his first postseason. Through 16 postseason appearances, the 7-footer is averaging 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds with two double-doubles. He’s also tacking on 1.2 blocks per game despite never starting once and averaging 21.8 minutes of playing time.
Dereck Lively II on Daniel Gafford:
“I’m here to win games. I’m not here to care about how many points I put on the board, how many rebounds I put on the board, how many times I start in a game, and he’s the same way…We have a great one-two dynamic of picking each other up…I… pic.twitter.com/czWgOfPhPX
— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) June 2, 2024
Lively seeks to become the seventh Duke basketball player to play in the NBA Finals and emerge with a title, though Boston’s Jayson Tatum would accomplish the same feat.