With his arms up in celebration and pointing to the sky, the first thing rookie Dereck Lively II did after making it to the Western Conference Finals last night was pay tribute to his mother Kathy Drysdale. Battling with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for over a decade, Kathy passed away last month, leaving a huge void in her twenty-year-old son’s life. But learning from his mother’s courage and never-quit attitude throughout his life, Dereck has continued to fight through adversity and shine brighter than ever, even making his leader Luka Doncic “really proud”.

Minutes after defeating the OKC Thunder in Game 6, Dereck Lively II took to Instagram to send a wholesome message to his mother, “Love u momma, Miss u momma, just sit back n watch.” In an interview with The Athletic a couple of weeks ago, he admitted that his life has been in chaos since his mother passed. But reminiscing that even on her deathbed Kathy told Dereck that she was fine, he said that’s what motivated him to keep going, “To see that attitude, to see that grit in her, made me realize, ‘All right, I have to continue it.”

With a responsibility to carry her legacy, Dereck Lively II is constantly battling to ease the pain. And that has been a part of his personality ever since he got drafted to the league and possibly long before that. During his early days in Dallas, the coaching staff was shocked at how quickly Dereck was picking up the NBA ways and settling into his new role.

And even his veteran leader, Luka Doncic was taken aback by the quick grasp of the twenty-year-old which he revealed in an interview last December, “I didn’t expect this impact of him. He’s been playing like he’s in the league for 10 years already. I’m really proud of this guy.”

Kathy’s teachings are doing wonders for Dereck Lively II!

Despite this being his career’s first playoffs, Dereck Lively II is playing a pivotal role for the Mavs. With experienced veteran Maxi Kleber out, Lively has been given the huge responsibility of protecting the paint. And he has done a brilliant job so far, averaging over eight points along with seven boards in the limited time he gets on the floor. While those are not very huge numbers, Lively was never taught to worry about his stat line by his first coach, his mother. “My mom’s always taught me, it’s not about how many points you put up on the board.” Instead, Kathy taught her son to do everything he could do to impact winning even if that included just making hustle plays.

Even last night, Lively had an amazing performance to help his team win. Although he only had twelve points, his impact was visible from the fifteen crucial rebounds he collected. Of course, the Mavs already have elite scorers like Kyrie and Luka on their team, but they also need a player like Lively who can take over other tasks with no hesitation to help his team win.

Yes, it’s hard for Lively to move on from what happened last month. But he believes that is what his mother would have wanted him to do, and he has shown great maturity in every aspect of his life despite the immense pain.

Kudos to Dereck Lively II!