Philadelphia High School Basketball
Dereck Lively II Earns NBA Rising Stars Team Roster Spot

Philadelphia native and 2023 first round NBA Draft pick Dereck Lively II earned an invitation to the 2025 NBA All-Star Game as a member of the Rising Stars squad’s sophomore player category.
Born in Philadelphia, Lively attended the nearby Westtown School in West Chester, Pa., where he was a teammate of Villanova walk-on guard Wade Chiddick and made himself into the No. 2 prospect in the class of 2022. A 7-foot-1 presence in the low post, Lively attended Duke for one year before declaring for the NBA Draft as an eventual first round pick. He helped Dallas reach the NBA Finals in 2024, starting 42 of his 55 games played and averaging 8.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and earned NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors for his performance.
This season he’s putting up 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 2.6 assists per game, doing a bit of everything and showing an uncommon degree of versatility for a big man.
2025 NBA Rising Stars rosters released: pic.twitter.com/0e7Bb7CbW4
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 28, 2025
Unfortunately, Dereck Lively won’t manage to take the court during the All-Star festivities as a result of a stress fracture suffered in his right ankle on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Initial reports indicated that he could miss as much as two to three months because of the injury: the updated timeline the Mavericks issued on Jan. 22 indicated they’ll reevaluate him in four weeks, potentially meaning his recovery could take a smoother path than originally feared… although reevaluation and clearance to play are two very different things.