A stress fracture in his right ankle sidelined Lively in January, and he didn't return to the lineup until April. The surgery to remove bone spurs was on the same foot.

Lively played in just 36 games last season due to a small fracture in his foot (or ankle, depending on the report. (How to best treat Lively and pushing him to play reportedly was a flash point in a ...

Lively missed more than half of the 2024-25 season due to a foot injury and while he returned for four games late in the year, it was mostly a lost sophomore season.

Last season, Lively averaged 8.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game.

Mavericks center Dereck Lively recently underwent surgery to clean up bone spurs in his right foot, according to reports from Marc Stein of The Stein Line and Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).

Dallas Mavericks Center Dereck Lively II recently underwent surgery on his right foot. Lively II, 21, is expected to be ready for the start of training camp.

Hailed No. 1 pick rookie Cooper Flagg won't be the only player on the Dallas Mavericks who fans are anticipating seeing growth from on the court this season.

Lively, 21, has been plagued by injuries since joining the Mavericks as the No. 12 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was limited to 55 games as a rookie and 36 games in 2024-25.