Scrappy Aussie with a heart of gold Matthew Dellavedova somehow went from being a Collingwood-loving boy from Maryborough to an indispensable cog in the Cleveland Cavaliers seemingly unlikely 2015-16 NBA Championship victory.
Delly’s relentless work ethic in his role as the Cavs’ backup point guard throughout the regular season and the playoffs wound up scoring him a giant contract at the Milwaukee Bucks, with the 26-year-old leaving Ohio for Wisconsin during the off-season.
Today marks the first time Delly has returned to the Q Arena in Cleveland since leaving the Cavs, and it’s also the first opportunity he’s had to be presented with his NBA Championship ring by the Cavs organisation.
But there’s never any hard super feelings in basketball, and despite leaving Delly apparently remains as beloved by the city of Cleveland as ever.
Accepting the ring today, the Cavs crowd gave Delly a warm welcome back, but it was Delly’s former Cavs teammates that really stole the show.
As he stood mid-court to accept the ring, Matty was swamped by practically the entire star-studded roster of Cavaliers, all of whom gathered him up in an almighty group hug for their old mate.
It’s bloody… ah god damn it, it’s just real bloody nice is what it is.
.@matthewdelly is back in The Land for #CavsBucks and just received his Championship Ring! ????#WonForAll pic.twitter.com/UbnVsMJirw
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) December 22, 2016
Bonus points go to the Cavs for being so wildly enthusiastic that they knocked the ring out of the box, temporarily losing it. That’s either a super happy accident, or an almighty troll being pulled off at elite levels.
Either way, it rules.
Source: Twitter.
