Who are Dereck Lively II's parents, Kathy Drysdale and Dereck Lively? Looking at personal life of potential pick in 2023 NBA draft 

Dereck Lively II's parents have played a key role in the young center's life. As he prepares to go in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft, let's take a look at Dereck Lively II's parents.

From the look of things, Lively has been fortunate enough to have a good relationship with both his parents, Dereck and Kathy. Unfortunately, Dereck Lively Sr passed away when his son was young due to a drug overdose. According to Dereck Lively II, as a kid, he had a great relationship with his dad.

Speaking to WRALSportsFan in March, he said:

"I had a great relationship with my father. I remember when I was in elementary school and he picked me up because he got done from work early and get something to eat.

"We'd go get ice cream. I remember back in Philadelphia it was Halloween, we went trick or treating when I was 6 years old. No one had any candy out, no one has nothing. So, my dad takes me to the corner store and says, 'Go crazy.' I ended up almost buying that corner store out."

When it comes to his mother, that's where Dereck Lively II gets his basketball genes.

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Dereck Lively II's parents - his relationship with his mother

When looking at Dereck Lively II's parents, it's hard to ignore the impact his mom had on his career. During Kathy Drysdale's career with Penn State, she scored over 1,000 points, which included a wicked 3-point shot much ahead of its time.

With the modern NBA playstyle seeing bigs capable of shooting, even on fastbreaks, it's clear that Kathy was far ahead of her time. In an interview with WRALSportsFan, she stated:

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"We had a three-point shooting club with just the bigs. Eventually, we were doing so well being more consistent with makes that we actually had a fast break and I was trailer as well as some of our other posts.

"It was a shuffle pass from the point guard right at the top of the key, I think it was against Rhode Island. I had like two or three and I was like 'Oh my God, this is so much fun.'"

As he looks ahead to a thrilling night at the NBA draft, the support Dereck Lively II's parents gave him has certainly helped him get to this point.

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