Despite being plagued by foul trouble San Antonio Spurs’ rookie Victor Wembanyama had 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 23 minutes in his regular-season debut.
But he was outdone by Dallas Mavericks rookie Dereck Lively II, who scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a Mavericks win. Which rookie will be more impactful this season?
“Amazing man, I told him,” said Luka Doncic of Lively II’s performance. “He played amazing for the first game. I don’t remember seeing a rookie that played that amazing for their first game. I remember my first game, I was nervous. He didn’t seem nervous. He played f****** amazing.”
Dereck Lively II Was A Top Player In the Class Of 2022
Lively II is a bouncy athlete and was one of the top high school players in the class of 2022. He spent one year at Duke, where he earned All ACC-Freshman and All-ACC Defensive honors. The Mavericks potentially have a young rim-running, rebound grabbing, rim-protecting phenom on their hands.
Does that mean he’ll be better than Wemby?
Let’s not get carried away. There’s a reason that Wemby has been called the best prospect the league has seen since LeBron James. The 19-year-old Frenchman’s fourth quarter spurt is exactly why.
He had nine points in a three-minute span in the final frame when the Spurs pulled ahead. Wemby scored on an alley-oop, pull-up three off the dribble, leaked out for a fast break dunk, and a midrange jumper off a pindown action.
Wemby And The Spurs Are Still Figuring It Out
The tools he possesses are incredible. But it will take time before he becomes a winning basketball player. Mainly because his team is young and they are all trying to figure it out.
“We’re all figuring each other out,” Spurs’ guard Devin Vassell said. “We’re all figuring out Wemby. He’s figuring us out. We just got to figure out how to play as a team and make sure that the game is easy for him and he doesn’t have to do as much as he has to do on iso situations and just getting him easy lobs, easy looks to get him going. He demands so much attention. If they are double-teaming him, we have to be able to cut and make certain plays out of that.”
Lively II plays with a top-5 player and MVP candidate in Doncic, a perennial All-Star in Kyrie Irving, and a group of established NBA players. His job is to rebound, protect the paint, rim run and catch lobs. There’s less on his plate, and he’s on a better team.
If Lively primarily shares the floor with Doncic, he’s going to be a plus impact player because the Mavericks are always a plus team with Doncic on the floor.
Those factors suggest Lively II has the potential to be a more impactful player this year than Wemby. It doesn’t mean he’s a better player, he’s just better in a more defined role on a better team.
