Mavs star Dereck Lively II came to Jayen Daniels' defense after the Washington Commanders quarterback faced criticism online. On Wednesday, Culture Millennials, a pop culture Instagram account, shared a video of Daniels taking his mother out shopping.In the video, the mother-son duo is having a good time as they visit different shops and buy their desired products. However, fans online were not fond of the viral clip. The first slide on the post featured a couple of critical comments from the community.The post's caption asked the fans for their thoughts on the backlash Daniels has been receiving:"Jayden Daniels taking his mom on shopping going viral, people are discussing if they’re too close, what’s your thoughts?" View this post on Instagram Instagram PostDereck Lively II, who will earn a base salary of $5,253,360 with the Mavs in 2025-26, dropped into the post's comments section to defend the quarterback."Hell nahh take ur momma shopping 100x before any shorty," he commented.Lively defends Jayden Daniels from online criticism. (Credits: @culturemillennials/Instagram)The Mavs star's taking a stand shows the mutual respect athletes have for each other. Rising star Lively became a force in the paint during his rookie season in Dallas with the help of Luka Doncic's incredible passing skills.However, last season he had to deal with consistent injuries. After Doncic's exit, he had to reinvent himself on the court. However, the future looks bright for Lively, as Dallas bagged another promising talent in Cooper Flagg as the first pick in this year's draft.Dereck Lively II reveals his plans to help the Mavs star rookie in his first seasonWhile Dereck Lively II and Cooper Flagg have not played together on the same team before, they both share Duke roots. The former Blue Devils have been through the same program, and in 2023, Lively was in the same shoes as Flagg, a young adult ushering into the world of professional basketball.So, the Dallas big man has taken the responsibility to guide his fellow Duke alumni. On Aug. 3, Lively spoke to the press during the Mavs Academy Hoop Camp, where he revealed his plan to help Flagg in his rookie season."I’m making sure that he’s feeling as comfortable as possible, giving him any little detail or any little thing to give him,” he said. “Because whenever I was in his position, I remember how frightened I was, and I was only 19, and he’s 18."The Mavs' big man underwent surgery last month to clean up spurs in his right foot. He is expected to join the training camp in September, and the fans can expect him to have good chemistry with his team's star rookie.