Still harbouring NBA ambitions, Matthew Dellavedova made an instant statement in his first NBL training session

Captain Chris Goulding was interstate on family business when his Boomers’ teammate joined in his first competitive practice. The NBA championship player, known as an elite defender and distributor, shot the ball three times in row without passing. And made all three.

“I’ve heard the story,” Goulding says. “He wanted to come in and just let everyone know that, ‘Hey, I’m serious. I’m here to play, be aggressive, and I’m gonna compete’. And that’s one thing with Delly: you don’t get a possession or a day off, and it’s awesome that he came out with that mindset in his first training.”

On the sidelines that day, United coach Dean Vickerman noted approvingly the attitude of his marquee recruit and the “wow” effect it had on the group.

“Great players find a way to make a statement as they enter the facility,’’ Vickerman says. “His team won that scrimmage and he just went into his teammates and he said ‘sorry I didn’t share the ball, but I haven’t played for a while and needed to get some shots up’.

“So it was just a way to say ‘hey, I’m here, I’m gonna earn my respect and I’m gonna try and win every possession that I play’. Everyone probably thinks of Delly as this high-level defender with this IQ and everything, and he just wanted to come in and show that he’s gonna be able to score at this level, as well.’’

Against the Kings in Sydney on December 5, Dellavedova’s long-awaited NBL debut coincides with the start of Melbourne United’s title defence. A career that began in the Victorian goldfields town of Maryborough progressed from the Bendigo Braves to the AIS in the former SEABL, then continued at Saint Mary’s College in California en route to an eight-season NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers – in two stints, highlighted by a 2016 championship ring – and the Milwaukee Bucks.

This step backwards, such as it is, comes from a supreme competitor who rarely takes one, but Dellavedova will – naturally – be prepared. “It’s really physical, fast-paced, and it’s tough competition. I’ve been obviously following the NBL for a long time, and I think the quality has always been there, but I think the respect that it gets around the world now has caught up with how good the league actually is.’’

That, he says, has plenty to do with the Next Stars program that propelled LaMelo Ball from the Illawarra Hawks to the No. 3 NBA Draft pick and Rookie of the Year honours with the Charlotte Hornets, and Dellavedova expects it will be a similar trajectory for homegrown former Adelaide 36er turned Oklahoma City Thunder sensation, Josh Giddey.

Still, the 31-year-old prefers not to speak of his own NBA experience in the past tense, for he remains intent on a recall – just as Andrew Bogut returned briefly from the Kings to the Golden State Warriors in 2019. “My goal is definitely to get back there, so I’ll say it’s been an awesome experience – so far,’’ Dellavedova says, with emphasis. “And obviously hoping for more. I’ve got some things that I’ve got to work on and prove to show that I can play back there, but I think that will come with time. The main thing I’m focused on is just getting used to my teammates here, and doing everything I can to try to help United win another championship.’’

The United deal was done before the Tokyo Olympics, where Delly was the starting point guard throughout the Boomers’ irresistible bronze medal run. His final season with the Cavs was limited by issues ranging from concussion to an emergency appendectomy, and despite what he describes as “many conversations” with NBA clubs, the right deal did not come.

At least the NBL is a genuine Plan B now, with wide acknowledgment of the marquee player rule modified as part of the resuscitation of a competition that just seven years ago was on life support.

“No-one knew if the league was going to be around 12 months later, or if any of the teams would be around 12 months later,’’ says NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger of a time when it was impossible to imagine Australia’s NBA stars being lured home to finish/reboot their careers.

Goulding adds: “Back then you may have got someone at the very, very end of their career come and tack on a year or so, but not Delly. He probably could have hung around in the NBA if he wanted to take deals with certain teams, but he chose to come back and play in a well-respected league. And he wants to play a lot of basketball, so it speaks volumes for where we’ve come as a league.’’

Project Delly

The reform of the NBL’s contracting system in 2016/17 – the second season under deep-pocketed new owner Larry Kestelman – that opened marquee spots to Aussie/Kiwi/Asian players and thus included just $150,000 of their salary in a club’s cap, ticked several boxes. One: luring locals (see Goulding, Brad Newley, etc) back from Europe, while incentivising teams to retain young talent that may otherwise have headed in the opposite direction to boost their NBA prospects.

“The secondary goal was to ensure that we were in a position that we could attract the Andrew Boguts and the Matthew Dellavedovas of the world back to the NBL after their NBA careers, because otherwise there was absolutely no way that teams could afford to bring them back,’’ says Loeliger, stressing that the financial appeal for big-name recruits had to marry with their confidence in a credible and sustainable league.

“To have Andrew come back was an incredibly proud moment because we didn’t think it would happen quite so quickly and be during his career. And to have Delly back now, a championship winner, an Olympic medallist, it’s just really humbling that he’s willing to return to our competition, potentially to finish his career.’

It had been an extended and persistent sales pitch. Via his – and Vickerman’s, perhaps not coincidentally – agent Bruce Kader, there were reminders of Dellavedova’s standing as the beloved kid from country Victoria made good. Very good. Relatable is another word used for a 191cm gut-buster who is neither super-tall nor freakishly athletic. Loeliger, who also calls him an “extremist” for his willingness to do whatever it takes to gain the extra one per cent, recalls going to the US for a Bucks game and marvelling when they chatted afterwards that a famous athlete on a $51.2 million four-year contract seemed so unaffected.

“I remember thinking that he would come back to the NBL without some of the transition issues that a lot of other big-time athletes would bring with them. There’s very little ego. He plays a style of game that would translate to the NBL immediately, and it was going to be a successful venture for both the NBL and for Delly, because the style of game suits him perfectly,’’ says Loeliger.

More recently, while the priority was to explore all NBA avenues post-Cavs, there was another consideration if the signposts did eventually point back across the Pacific: where would the corporate doors open? A lesser known fact about Dellavedova is that he is a shrewd businessman, cryptocurrency and sports technology investor, whom Loeliger describes as “intensely intelligent, incredibly well-read and well-rounded. You can tell that he has really keen aspirations beyond basketball.

“One of the main reasons I wanted him back in the NBL and in Australia is because I think he’ll do as much good for the sport and the ecosystem after he retires as he does while he’s on the court. So to have him play a part in the NBL while he’s still out on court will, I’m hoping, strengthen the likelihood of him sticking around the Australian basketball industry long after.”

The timing was perfect, with United’s ongoing quest to lure home a Victorian of his quality climaxing at the same time championship point guard Mitch McCarron was headed to Adelaide via free agency. South Australian Joe Ingles, who is based in Melbourne near wife Renae’s family between Utah Jazz seasons, practises with United on his annual extended visit and has already flagged that the city will host his competitive twilight. If it was ever about the money, it won’t be by then.

Nor does Delly have any financial concerns, and Goulding laughs that a teammate renowned for his intensity is far more “chilled” off the court. “He just wants to talk about Bitcoin. I think he’s got more Bitcoin than he knows what to do with, so he’s hoping (the price) blows up a bit more. He’ll be putting his kids and his kids’ kids and his kids’ kids’ kids’ through college with it, I reckon.’’

Dellavedova’s own parents still live in tiny Maryborough (population 8000), while his sisters Yana and Ingrid are in Melbourne. After returning from Tokyo via California in September with wife Anna and young son Anders, the triple Olympian headed straight up the Calder Freeway to the same bedroom he slept in as a young teenager.

There was time for catching up after a two-year absence, some bushwalking and strolls around the local dam, having been granted a Covid-lockdown exemption to train at the stadium where it all started 27 years ago. “I’ve probably made more baskets on that court than any other court, so it’s got a lot of special memories and it’s always fun to be able to go back there and work out.’’

The NBL’s star signing sees the league as his best opportunity to return to the NBA “with a better option than I had this season’’. No-one will begrudge him that chance if it comes, but there are mixed views on the probability. Vickerman: “We’re just so pleased right now that we’ve got him, and that he’s a Victorian boy coming back to Melbourne United.’’

The Delly factor

Australian audiences can expect a slightly modified version of a show they’ve seen before. On TV, mostly. Dellavedova may be a white-collar-mogul-in-the-making, but he will still be the guy Vickerman knows will win an extra possession with his defensive hustle, take a charge, do the relentless blue-collar things we all know.

“I think he’s in a really good place with his body right now. Over the last couple of years there’s been a battle there with his knees and obviously some concussions and different things, but he got himself as good as possible for the Olympics and is in an even better place right now, physically,’’ says Vickerman.

“Coming from the NBA, I think what he wants to do is play a far more significant role and lead a team and play extended minutes. He’s the guy who’s gonna challenge the league leaders in assists, he’s gonna be up there for defensive player-of-the-year, he’s gonna bring leadership and a crazy high-level IQ to our team from the point guard position and there’s gonna be things he’s gonna help me with as a coach, both in the games and in practice, as well.’’

But, having been more of a self-described “facilitator” in the US, there will be a greater focus on scoring that in turn will help to open up other avenues to the basket. His three-point percentage dipped to just 27.6% in his second stint at Cleveland, and remains a work-in-progress, while there was an early post-up at practice that Dellavedova announced as his first in seven or eight years.

“So there’s gonna be parts of his game that are gonna take a while to redevelop what he did in college and in the early part of his NBA career,’’ says Vickerman. “But he’s so open to continuing to explore whatever advantage he can create on the floor for us.’’

While some tactical adjustments will be necessary, defensive aggression and desperation are the calling cards of a man who infamously topped an LA Times poll of coaches and players asked to nominate the NBA’s “dirtiest” player. At the time, Dellavedova had been criticised for, among other things, injuring Atlanta’s Kyle Korver by diving on the ball during the 2017 Eastern Conference play-offs, which in turn prompted a spirited defence from the likes of fellow Cav LeBron James and former great Charles Barkley.

“He’s a scrapper, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t say he’s dirty,’’ says Goulding. “I mean, he wants to compete and he wants to get the ball and he wants to get stops and win at all costs, so (he’ll do) whatever he has to do to get it. Maybe that’s not seen as complimentary over there like it is here, but that’s a quality that we certainly love about him.’’

Loeliger equates it to playing finals-intensity basketball in every game; an approach that may yet earn Dellavedova a summons closer to pointy-end NBA time, when a team – particularly one with which he shares history – is looking for an experienced hand to provide what the NBL boss calls an instant “microwave” effect (see one-percenters, above.)

“That's not always looked upon favourably in the NBA. Here in the NBL it is,’’ says Loeliger. “We all look at that and go ‘he’s not dirty, he does exactly what is expected by every Australian fan’. You can tell by watching him play that he also grew up playing football, and your own dad would boo you off the field if you didn’t put your head over the ball in that kind of situation.’’

Delly grew up not just playing football, but as a passionate Collingwood supporter friendly with captain Scott Pendlebury from their Vic Country representative days. Vision of Delly playing beer pong in a Pies jumper during the Cavs’ championship celebrations went viral, and what was a great black-and-white promotion has been matched with regular free tickets over the years. Expect a winter in Melbourne to include regular trips to the MCG.

Yet a footy fan hoping for improvement from an inexperienced AFL squad also has an unofficial development project of his own. United media staff noticed while shooting video footage at the first training session that the education process had already begun. “The young fellas, he’s already got their ear (just by) walking through the door,” says Vickerman. “But then to see him come in and work so hard and be humble with it as well, they’re gonna lap up that experience.

“Delly’s a true leader in the regard that he loves to make other people better, so I think it’s just a natural instinct for him if he sees an area where he thinks he can give advice to someone or create a better relationship … he just likes to compute as much information as he can to make the best decision and a big part of that is his communication.’’

Then there’s his preparation and attention to detail, with Goulding recalling the extra large piece of tattered luggage he would bring to Boomers’ training in Tokyo. “Some guys have a duffel bag; Delly used to wheel a 25-kilo suitcase around with all his gidgets and gadgets – weights, bands, rollers, 20-kilo dumbbells, heavy basketballs, light basketballs, everything you could imagine that he could fit into (it).’’

And while sources suggest it has not been spotted at Melbourne United, Dellavedova in his NBL incarnation will soon be arriving at a court near you. “It’s gonna be good for the Australian public to get up close and personal with him and see him running round on a nightly basis,’’ says Goulding. “I’ve no doubts that he will be coming out to show just how good of a basketballer he is.’’