Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively visiting with family, working out, talking about dinosaurs. Lively at his camp, hanging out with kids, Lively working out again, Lively dinosaur picture used as a meme. And that is just the last week.
The Mavs social media strategy these days seems to be Dereck Lively. We see him working out more than once. We understand that he spent a lot of time with his kids’ camp in Philadelphia (multiple posts):
Not only does he seem to feature in the most posts recently, they also seem to use him the most for the content they produce themselves. Here, about dinosaurs from last week. It’s like the dinosaur hobby never gets old.
And this is clearly a very deliberate choice from the social media team and marketing and PR machine. The family and kids aspect of how they often use Lively is a strategy, and it seems to fit his personality, as well. And that is not a bad idea.
With the Dallas Mavericks going through a lot of turmoil and being subject to a lot of anger from the fanbase after the Luka trade, Dereck Lively is a safe choice. A wholesome choice. Everybody likes Lively.
It’s like he is somewhat protected from the negativity surrounding the team, both because of his carefree, down to earth, funny personality, as well as his ease being in front of the camera. But also because he in some ways grew up on the Mavs in front of our eyes. In his time with the team, especially his rookie year last season when the Mavericks went to the Finals, he performed above and beyond what anyone had expected of him. On the court, he looked like a much more experienced player, and he always carried himself with poise. Fans don’t forget that.
Going through the tragic experience of losing his mom just before the playoffs in 2024 had the fanbase huddling around him, protecting him from negativity. And Lively has a broad appeal to both kids, who relate to him because of his dinosaur and Lego interests, and his work with children and the local community. He is a unifying character on a team led by divisive people, making divisive decisions.
So putting the focus on Lively a lot during an uncertain off-season with a lot of injuries plaguing the roster and no really good stories to tell from the past season, makes a lot of sense from a marketing and PR standpoint. If the strategy is to reach out to a fanbase that may be lukewarm at best or have left already, Lively might be the best bet.
Until either Anthony Davis proves he can lift the heavy burden left by Luka Doncic and unify the fanbase once again, or Cooper Flagg creates the same type of excitement as Dallas was used to, Lively is the guy calming the seas.
Speaking of seas, the captain (I will not call him the Cap) could be someone else to look at featuring more. His popularity with the fanbase seems to be on the rise as he is having what seems like a great summer, making his relationship with Meghan Thee Stallion public, and sharing a lot of very heartwarming content. Here’s just one of many fun posts from the couple since July:
Klay Thompson may not want the spotlight quite as much, but when he’s in it, he is authentic, which is key to creating good content and connection. Hopefully we’re in for more Klay content in the future.
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