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Losing a mother is one of the harshest blows anyone can receive, as Dereck Lively can corroborate. The Dallas Mavericks rookie lost his mom last month to cancer, and yesterday, he paid a heartfelt tribute to her on his social media to celebrate his team's victory in the NBA playoffs.
Kathy Drysdale passed away this past April 12, a victim of cancer. The player himself broke the news on his Instagram profile, saying, "My heart breaks saying goodbye to the most important person in the world to me, my best friend, my superhero, my biggest cheerleader and mom, Kathy Drysdale."
The loss seriously affected the Mavs' backup center. His numbers took a drastic decline in the first two games of the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but on Friday night, in the sixth game, Lively woke up and was a central piece in Dallaswinning 117-116.
Lively's message
After the victory that guaranteed them a place in the Western Conference finals, Lively took to his social media to send his mother a message. "Love u momma. Miss u momma. Just sit back n watch," the player wrote on his Instagram Stories.
Lively, 20, was very close to his mother. In his farewell message a month ago, the player said, "I truly can't imagine my life without her, but I know I have an angel in the stands always and forever cheering my one and yelling at me if I'm bullshitting."
"My mom was a beautiful soul, loved by every person who crossed her path and by every team I have played for, from Team Final to West Town to Duke to the Mavericks," Lively said in his note.
Derek Lively's numbers
After averaging just two points, 6.5 rebounds, and two assists in the first two games of the series against the Thunder, Lively emerged in the last four with averages of 10.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.
Lively is a nominal backup to Daniel Gafford. However, both centers split minutes equally, and that has fueled the Mavs throughout the 2023-2024 season.
With its victory on Friday, Dallas is now only waiting for the winner of the duel between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets to define the representative of the Western Conference in the NBA finals.