The breakout star of the postseason is no longer Steph Curry's daughter. It's LeBron James's new sidekick.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers effectively down to seven players with the injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, it's been on James's "grit squad" to step up. They've done just that, unexpectedly helping James give the Cavs a 2-1 series lead over the Golden State Warriors, just two wins away from Cleveland's first sports championship since 1964.
Chief among those role players taking a well-timed leap has been Matthew Dellavedova, an unheralded, undrafted Australian sophomore out of Saint Mary's.
An afterthought in the offseason dreams of fans and, likely, the team itself, Dellavedova carved out a role as the team's backup point guard, earning 20.6 minutes per night despite modest numbers. In the playoffs, he's not only ratcheted up the numbers – he's scored 29 points over the last two games – but the team's overall intensity. He's a worker, a dirty-areas player, an endless ball of energy flying around the court.
Sometimes that oft-reckless energy has been called dirty, a title Dellavedova doesn't like. But he will admit to being a pest.
"Well, I've never played against myself," Dellavedova said Wednesday when asked if he'd find himself annoying. "Yeah, I think I would. In college, guys would try all kinds of things to just distract me or get under my skin, and things like that."
Annoying or not, Dellavedova's antics have proven effective of late, making him an invaluable member of what could become the most shorthanded championship squad in recent memory.
The undersized angle is overplayed – Dellavedova is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds – but teammate Kendrick Perkins sees Dellavedova's work ethic-based ascension as a good example for youth players. This is a guy who the Cavs secured with just $100,000 in guaranteed money after the 2013 draft, enough to outbid other interested parties.
"Delly gives all kids hope about making it to the NBA," Perkins said. "You got a kid who puts in arguably the most work on the team ... If you were to see Delly on a daily basis, you would see why all this is coming together for him."
So remember, the next time Dellavedova gets under someone's skin, he does it for the children. Like Wu Tang, Delly is for the children.
And for the merchandise sales, apparently. ESPN's Darren Rovell reported Wednesday that Dellavedova has the best-selling NBA jersey on Fanatics, the largest online retailer in the U.S. Sales of his jersey during The Finals have already surpassed his jersey sales from the regular season, a spike that began in the middle of Game 3.
All of those new Dellavedova fans better hope the Cavaliers opt to retain their new-found celebrity in restricted free agency this summer.
