20-year-old Dereck Lively II’s NBA Career seemed to have commenced to a good start once he was drafted into the Dallas Mavericks before the beginning of the recent tournament. Thanks to an offensive effort led by his veteran teammates Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the rookie has now gotten the opportunity to be in the playoffs during his very first NBA season. However, this feeling of achievement would have been overshadowed by the fact that the player recently lost his mother, Kathy Drysdale, after the latter’s decade-long battle with cancer. In light of this situation, the Mavericks’ leading scorer is there to send his assurances to Lively II regarding his performance.

The Mavericks recently set a 2-1 record during their ongoing playoff clash against the LA Clippers. During the post-game press conference, Luka Doncic was asked about his thoughts on Lively II, who has been maintaining his average score even during this difficult time. The Slovenian player talked about being amazed at just how much “the kid loves to play basketball” and how the same is being seen during his recent performance.

“I can’t imagine how hard the situation (is), and he’s still performing well, giving good energy” said Doncic. “Just explains how great the guy is”.

Despite being in grief, Lively II did not wanted to disappoint the franchise that gave him the start to his NBA career. Luka Doncic’s above comments came after the player dropped a score of 13 points and 2 rebounds during his 15 minutes on the court. His performance was a reflection of the comment that the player had made a few days ago, talking about moving on and how that’s “what my mom would want me to do. That’s kind of what she was doing throughout the whole time.”

Kathy Drysdale was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma back in 2013. At that time, the future NBA player was just a couple of days shy of his 9 birthday. Drysdale’s condition never stopped her from being supportive of her son’s basketball journey. After all, she herself had been a former player for the Penn State women’s basketball team from 1988-1992. During her decade long extensive treatment which involved chemotherapy and even a stem cell transplant, Drysdale continued staying by her son’s side as a single parent, since her husband Dereck Lively Sr had passed away back in 2012 due to a drug overdose.

Drysdale entered remission back in 2022, just in time to see Lively II make himself eligible enough for the NBA draft. From watching on as her son was drafted into the Dallas Mavericks to being alongside him during various ceremonies, she was the companion that every son dreams of having.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t live long enough to see the next leg of her son’s NBA journey. 12 April was the day that the Mavericks were facing the Detroit Pistons for the last time during the tournament. It was the same day that Lively II lost his mother.

Dereck Lively II’s teammates sent their own tribute to Kathy Drysdale

Dereck Lively II made the announcement about his mother’s death on social media right before the Mavericks-Pistons clash. Describing her as the “most important person in the world to me”, the player laid emphasis on her mother’s “strong and stubborn” nature and how it helped her in her fight against cancer for the past 11 years.

In the aftermath of the announcement, the official social media page of the Dallas Mavericks posted their own tribute. Before the game commenced, a moment of silence was held in honour of Kathy Drysdale by the players and the attendees at the American Airlines Center in Texas. Both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving highlighted the moment through their official Instagram account. Along with that, Irving also posted a photo of Lively II wearing a jersey that bore his mother’s name.

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It’s never easy to lose a loved one, especially when that someone is your mother. However, Dereck Lively II is continuing to display his resolve during the ongoing playoffs and helping his veteran teammates lead the franchise all the way to the championship ring.