Outside of LeBron James, nobody in the NBA playoffs has seen their profile rise in the public’s eyes more than Matthew Dellavedova.
The Cleveland Cavaliers backup guard saw a huge boost in minutes during the conference semifinals after Kyrie Irving got hurt. He started to really make an impact for the team during that series and helped close out the Bulls with 19 points in Game 6. Delly then saw even more minutes in the conference finals against the Hawks when Irving missed the series, as he scored 11, 17, and 10 points in Games 2-4. He also became a huge controversy after getting three players injured or suspended during the playoffs.
After Irving went down in overtime of Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors, it became Delly time. The Australian-born player has been playing stingy defense and diving for loose balls to give the Cavs an edge. Then he blew up for 20 points while helping the Cavs win Game 3, leading the internet to have a field day creating memes about him.
Let’s take a look at some of the best work:
Delly daddy pic.twitter.com/jfjEx4X6Vj
— Nolan Bonotto (@NolanBonotto) June 10, 2015
RT @kimmiexj: Patron Saint of Grit pic.twitter.com/LQ0667WDKY
— Yorick's Sequel (@UncleHemp) June 10, 2015
“@Kyrie_SIrving: Only real old heads will get it pic.twitter.com/ixJG1iW5xs” teen wolf delly
— OhioSportsFan (@DroughtSince64) June 10, 2015
— PFTCommenter (@PFTCommenter) June 10, 2015
— Complex (@ComplexMag) June 10, 2015
The Australian Parliament has announced it will start replacing the Queen on its $5 notes tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/INkCAuMuvm
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) June 10, 2015
And then the memes got personal:
On behalf of fathers everywhere, happy early Father’s Day! pic.twitter.com/DQsGZQD7ed
— Doug Baldwin Jr (@DougBaldwinJr) June 10, 2015
BREAKING: After tonight's game, Ayesha Curry had allegedly divorced Steph and married Delly pic.twitter.com/Plqo1KyySl
— Barney Kool Breeze (@LukusStricker) June 10, 2015
And here were some of the great quotes about Delly after the game:
If Matthew Dellavedova opened up a deli and called it Delly's Deli, I'd eat there every day, man. Give me a roast beef sandwich.
— Jon Gruden (@Faux_Gruden) June 10, 2015
The future belongs to the mad. #NBAFinals #Delly pic.twitter.com/VIy07fub52
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 10, 2015
"Delly is the most Cleveland-like Australian I've ever met in my life." David Blatt
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 10, 2015
More Blatt on Delly: "His biggest fan is sitting home right now: Kyrie Irving. He loves the guy."
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) June 10, 2015
