Duke 7-foot-1 center Dereck Lively II announced Tuesday that he’s entering the 2023 NBA Draft.
Lively made the announcement in a short video posted to Twitter — wearing a shirt of 2016-17 Duke star Jayson Tatum — and in a school news release.
“It was always a dream of mine to play for Duke, and now I’ll set my sights on my dream of playing in the league and declare for the NBA draft,” he said.
Thankful for this journey, thankful for my teammates, thankful for my coaches, and thankful for all of Duke Nation. It’s about the get LIVELY. pic.twitter.com/dfz0PoTbIQ
— Dereck Lively II (@DereckLively) April 4, 2023
Lively averaged 5.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in 34 games (27 starts) as a freshman this past season. His 82 blocked shots ranked second in the ACC, eighth nationally and led all Division I freshmen.
From the Philadelphia area, Lively was ranked by the 247Sports composite as the No. 1 center and No. 3 overall player in the Class of 2022.
Fellow teammate and freshman Dariq Whitehead declared for the draft last week while freshman point guard Tyrese Proctor announced he would return for his sophomore season.
–Field Level Media
