Matthew Dellavedova used to make headlines for being an irritant, but now he is making headlines for being a true sportsman.
The former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dellavedova went viral over the weekend for a moment of incredible class following his team’s season-ending loss. Dellavedova is now playing in his native Australia for Melbourne United of the National Basketball League (NBL). The team made it all the way to NBL Grand Final series this year, where they played the Ilawarra Hawks.
In Sunday’s Game 5 (a winner-take-all in the best-of-five series), Ilawarra defeated Melbourne 114-104 to win the league championship. Despite the loss though, Dellavedova was named the NBL Grand Final MVP (an award that had not gone to a player on the losing team since 1993).
But after Dellavedova was given the award, he decided to give it to Ilawarra guard Will “Davo” Hickey instead.
“Davo, this really belongs to you,” said Dellavedova. “You had a hell of a series. Congratulations on the win.
“To our boys, thanks for a fun season,” Dellavedova went on. “To our families, we appreciate everything that you do. But Davo, this is yours.”
Dellavedova then walked over to Hickey and handed him the NBL Grand Final MVP trophy. Here is the video of the classy moment.
Hickey finished the decisive Game 5 with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Though Dellavedova had a tremendous overall series himself with 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game against Ilawarra, he felt that Hickey was more deserving of the honor than he was.
Now 34 years old, Dellavedova was best known for his time in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom he won the championship with in 2016. Dellavedova, who last played in the league with the Sacramento Kings in 2022-23, wasn’t always the most popular NBA player due to his history of controversial plays. But you cannot argue with that gesture of pure class from Dellavedova this week in handing off his hard-earned trophy to a deserving adversary in Hickey.
