According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II has played his final game of the 2025-26 season and will undergo season-ending surgery on his right foot.
Lively has appeared in just seven of the Mavericks’ 25 games this season and has been dealing with ongoing discomfort in his right foot. The third-year, seven-footer has been Dallas’ frontline defensive backbone, averaging 1.6 blocks per game and acting as a deterrent in the paint. Lively has been out of the lineup since November 22.
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It marks another chapter in an injury-plagued season for Dallas, which is less than a third of the way through. In late November, veteran forward Anthony Davis returned from the injured list. Davis was solid when healthy, averaging 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, but he only played in 10 games. He has played in four consecutive games since December 1, and the team has won three of them.
Point guard Kyrie Irving has yet to make his season debut as he is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last season. Center Daniel Gafford has been in and out of the starting lineup several times early this season and is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. He has only played in 15 of the team’s 25 games so far. Klay Thompson has been dealing with knee soreness and did not play in the team’s win over Houston on Saturday. Despite this, Thompson played in 23 games.
When injuries strike, it often feels like a snowball effect because anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Since Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers last season, there’s been a lot of confusion surrounding this team. After that, the team selected Cooper Flagg as the No. 1 pick under everyone’s attention. The team fired former general manager Nico Harrison earlier this season, and trade rumors surrounding Davis continue.
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The Mavericks currently have a record of 9 wins and 16 losses, ranking 11th in the Western Conference, and were eliminated in the NBA Cup group stage.