Aussies in the NBA: Matthew Dellavedova receives his championship ring
Seven months after winning an NBA title with the Cavaliers, Aussie Matthew Dellavedova has officially received his championship ring after making his first trip to Cleveland as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
https://youtu.be/pAM-gsm0IAU Dellavedova was swamped by his former teammates as Cleveland General Manager David Griffin presented him with his ring in a ceremony prior to tip off at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday (AEST).
LeBron James, Tristan Thompson and Richard Jefferson were among the Cavaliers players to playfully embrace Dellavedova at half court before Kyrie Irving and an injured JR Smith hugged the Aussie individually.
It was a special moment for Dellavedova, who joined the Cavaliers as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
“It’s going to be pretty special. It’s my Christmas present, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Dellavedova said prior to receiving his ring.
“My family is going to be in town and it’s going to be fun.”
Dellavedova averaged 2.7 points and 1.0 assist per game in just under 8 minutes of action during The Finals and was a big factor throughout the Cavaliers’ 2016 playoff run.
After being down 3 games to 1, the Cavaliers pulled off one of the greatest come backs in NBA history to defeat the Golden State Warriors in 7 games.
During his three seasons in Cleveland, Dellavedova averaged 5.7 points and 3.4 assists per contest and became a cult hero for his blue collar style of play, commitment to his role, and storybook transformation from undrafted free agent to starter in the 2015 NBA Finals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEfFS-IhXgk In receiving his ring, Dellavedova becomes just the sixth Australian player to win a championship ring behind Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Andrew Bogut, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes.
Congratulations Delly!