Luka Doncic knew rookie Dereck Lively II was a good fit as soon as they first met in the offseason

While everyone is crazed over Victor Wembanyama’s first-ever season in the NBA, others believe Chet Holmgren is the strongest rookie in the league. However, other players enduring their first campaign as professional have also become extremely influential inside their rosters, just a Dereck Lively II has done so for the Mavericks.

While the Spurs and Thunder big men are leading the race for the Rookie of the Year award, Dallas have found their center in their new 7-foot-1 athlete. Dereck, who is third in line for the contested accolade, instantly impressed club superstar Luka Doncic.

According to their coach Jason Kidd, the connection between them was almost immediate, as the Slovenian realized he could run the court, find open spaces and dunk almost any ball he hands over to him. “It started in September when they met,” the tactician said.

Luka Doncic with a fake shot and finds Dereck Lively II for the SLAM 😱pic.twitter.com/qZ04y5Lavc

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 8, 2024

“Luka found out very quickly that Lively can catch and finish. That was something he was looking for. I think the relationship started there. There was trust on Day 1, and whenever there’s trust between a quarterback and a receiver, it will only get better,” Kidd added.

Things got ever better on Opening Night in San Antonio, as all eyes were on Wembanyama. However, it was Lively who turned heads, scoring 16 points while hitting 7-of-8 shots in 30 minutes, and adding 10 rebounds to his first-ever NBA stat line.

“I remember my first game – I was nervous. He didn’t seem that nervous. He played [bleeping] amazing,” Doncic recalled as the 19-year-old became the first rookie ever to put up at least 15 and 10 during his NBA debut, while hitting at least 80% of his attempts.

After this, the connection between them only deepened as no player other than Dereck has received more assists from the Slovenian this campaign. The point guard has assisted the rookie in 100 occasions already, as 7 of those came on Monday when the Mavs demolished the Bulls 127 to 92.

Lively II recently exhibited his career-best performance and tied a Hakeem Olajuwon’s rookie record while at it

At the start of the week, the 19-year-old dropped a season-best 22 points against Chicago, while missing only one of his 12 shots. The teenager also won 7 rebounds, handed out 3 assists, stole two balls and blocked another two, and became the first to post this stat line since Hakeem Olajuwon did so in his rookie campaign 29 years ago.

“Whenever Luka has two or three on him, just find open spaces and he’s going to get you the ball. It just comes down to our trust and chemistry,” Lively explained about his on-court relationship with his teammates. “If they are trapping him, I know to either go a step in from the top of the key or right at the foul line.”

“If I’m open, that means two people have to come to me and I need to make a decision to go to the basket or [find] a corner wing. Or if someone comes to me early, that leaves the corner wide open and no one’s going to get out there,” Lively said.

The rookie big man sees it as a game of chess. “It’s just going out there and playing a game of chess,” he expressed. “If I’m going to do this, you’re going to do that, I’m going to do this. That’s how it goes.”