NBA Awards Rankings: Victor Wembanyama enters All-Star break on superstar trajectory

9.2 PPG | 7.8 RPG | 1.3 APG | .736 FG% | .000 3P% | .559 FT%

The arrival of Daniel Gafford in Dallas might compromise Dereck Lively's place in these rankings moving forward. The rookie came off the bench in Wednesday's win over the Spurs and was limited to 17 minutes. It's worth monitoring how Lively's role develops after the All-Star break.

For now, he should be fairly comfortable in the top-five. He has been the primary starting center (35 starts in 37 games) for a team that is nine games above .500 in the Western Conference. Sure, Lively's success can be attributed to a fruitful partnership with Luka Doncic, but that is Lively's job — to elevate the lineup around Dallas' superstar playmaker. His responsibilities are streamlined, but Lively continues to dominate within the confines of his role.

Lively is a nuclear athlete at 7-foot-1. He has a massive catch radius (7-foot-7 wingspan), which is naturally compatible with Doncic's talent for perfectly-placed passes. Lively is the first proper lob threat of the Doncic era. He can actually defend and stay on the court, that is. Lively has been a major boon for the Mavs' offense, setting forceful screens and forcing defenses to consider his presence rolling to the rim.

On defense, Lively has been an immediate success in the anchor spot. He displays tremendous instincts as a shot-blocker (1.5 blocks), with the mobility to step up in space and operate within different schemes. He's laterally quick, reactive, and explosive on his first and second leap. He will be a special defender down the road. Right now, he's good enough to keep Dallas operating at a postseason level.