A lot of NBA players have put up a double-double in the playoffs at some point in their careers, but how many have had the literal dictionary shout them out?
Dereck Lively, the former Duke Blue Devil and current member of the Dallas Mavericks, helped his team advance with a 117-116 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night in the sixth game of a best-of-seven series.
Lively posted 12 points and a staggering 15 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive glass, in the victorious effort. He had 11 points and 10 rebounds in Game 5, his first playoff double-double, just days before.
The performance earned admiration from the basketball world, but the highest compliment might have come from an unlikely spot: the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
The social media account for the famous handbook released a definition for the word ‘lively’ in response to the Duke star’s last name. How’d they define it? Check it out yourself.
lively | adjective | quick to rebound
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) May 19, 2024
Quick to rebound, indeed.
Lively, fellow Duke alum Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks advance to the Western Conference Finals.