Dereck Lively Heads To The NBA
And it’s the right decision on every level
To no one’s surprise, Duke center Dereck Lively II entered his name into the NBA Draft on Tuesday. If you saw the video we linked recently about his mother and his motivation for making it, then you knew he was leaving for the best of reasons: he wants to take care of her as she struggles with health issues and also he wanted to buy a tombstone for his dad’s grave. Breaks your heart, really.
Here’s what he had to say about his decision:
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to play at Duke. I learned and grew so much this season as both a player and person…This season was all I could have imagined, and it was an honor to be part of an ACC title in coach (Jon) Scheyer’s first season.
“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.”
We wish him all the best and congratulations to him for stepping up and taking care of his mother. She has a wonderful son.