Dellavedova eyes place in NBL-NBA history

Matthew Dellavedova is just one of seven Australians to win an NBA championship, doing so with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Before that, though, he and the Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, first experienced the heartbreak of losing the 2015 NBA Finals.

Fast forward to the Hungry Jack’s 2025-26 Championship Series, and the 35-year-old guard is now just one win away from claiming his maiden NBL title.

And the four-time Olympian’s journey to this point has been similar, filled with heartbreak and disappointment, having lost the past two Championship Series with Melbourne United.

While the journey has been tough, Dellavedova is simply embracing the moment rather than focusing on the result ahead of time.

“Anytime you're playing for a championship, everyone's competing really hard,” Dellavedova said during Tuesday’s club media availability.

“It's fun, and this is why you play basketball, you have these opportunities to win.”

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While the Kings sit with a 2-1 lead, with Dellavedova playing a huge role in that due to his defence on Bryce Cotton, the Australian Boomer knows there are small changes the Harbour City side needs to make ahead of Game 4.

“We’ll make small adjustments here or there,” he said.

“[That involves] watching a lot of the game tape, walking through some things on the floor and a lot of different conversations.”

One aspect the Kings won’t change is their defensive intensity, which is holding the six-time MVP to just 16.7 points a game, while shooting 36.2 per cent from the field, significantly lower than his season averages of 25.6 points and 43.8 per cent.

“Defensively, it's important to be on a string,” he said.

“We've done a good job of that so far, so it’s important we stay to the game plan.”

If Dellavedova wins the 2025-26 championship, he will become just the fourth player in league history to win both a NBL and NBL title, alongside Andrew Gaze, Ian Clark and Jack White.

Game 4 of the Championship Series tips off at 7.30pm AEDT on Wednesday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, live on ESPN and 10 Drama in Sydney and Adelaide.