Matthew Dellavedova: ‘I’m like a small guy in a big league’

Matthew Dellavedova is the kind of player every team needs -- not a superstar but someone who will give his 100 percent to make sure that every hole is plugged and you score that victory. It will not always be pretty, but he gets the job done. He’s that grinder that the fans embrace because they know that in a team sport like basketball, every contribution counts.

Delly, as he is fondly called, was born and raised in Maryborough, Victoria in Australia and eventually went to play college hoops in the United States before joining the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013, after going undrafted.

His all-around play helped the Cavaliers win their first NBA title in 2016, being the first team to overcome a 1-3 deficit in the finals.

Now in Milwaukee, he hopes to bring leadership and stability to a young core looking to achieve greatness in the league.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Filipino fans who have seen you are saying that you look like such a “bruiser” on TV, but in person you’re like a saint. What’s your reaction? 

MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA: Well, everyone in the NBA is really big and I’m like a small guy but then, you know in terms of actions, I’m decently tall, but that’s what people usually say! (Laughs)

Let’s take it back to where it all began. You said you started out at four years old, were your dreams really focused on the NBA?

(Laughs) Back then, my mom would tell you a story, that I ran down the  court, just waving at her, not chasing the ball, but once I really got into it, basketball was always my favorite sport and my dream was to represent Australia in the Olympics, and playing in the NBA was always my goal as a young kid. I grew up in a town of eight and a half dozen people, and if that would be realistic, it’s every kid’s dream of playing for a country and go to the NBA but for some reason, there were a lot of ups and downs on the way, but I’m here actually playing in the NBA and realizing my dream.

You grew up playing football as well, when did you know that basketball would be the sport for you?

Basketball was always number one for me, being in a small town in Australia, everybody plays every sport so I played football, softball, field hockey, tennis. It was a lot of fun growing up in the town just playing every sport and making friends.

In your first few years in Cleveland, people were marveling at the revelation that you were.

Yeah! Wow! It was tough to get into NBA. I had four years of college at St. Mary’s, it was a lot of fun, a pretty successful team. We won a lot of games, did 14-15 draft workouts. Didn’t hear my name called on draft mat, but went to summer league and training to earn a roster spot. From them, I knew if I could just get an opportunity in the league and come back after the first year, I was pretty sure I could continue to improve to make sure I can stay in the league. And then before my second year, Lebron said he was coming back, and that changed things! That gave me an opportunity to play with him for two years and it was unbelievable, I learned a lot on and off the court from him and we came up short in the first year, but then to come up with the championship in a city that really love sports, and hasn’t won a championship in basketball, football or baseball for over 50 years, it was emotional for everyone, the faces and the people coming up on the street who were 45 years old and never thought that the championship was now in Cleveland. It was something very special. 

Now that you’re in Milwaukee with a new contract, what are you looking forward to?

It’s been a fun first year, we have a great young team, obviously Giannis (Antetokounpo) is a young superstar in the league already. He won the most improved player, but I don’t think he has a ceiling, so he could win a couple of times, that’s how good he could be. He works extremely hard, and we have a good young core of guys who really wanna win. It was disappointing to lose to Toronto in the first round, but I think it was a good experience for us and it made us hungry for the upcoming season. 

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