Matthew Dellavedova's legendary performance against Stephen Curry in the 2015 NBA Finals came at a massive physical cost, and Brian Windhorst says the Australian guard's love for coffee might have contributed to his post-game trip to the hospital.
Speaking on The Hoop Collective show , Windhorst recalled Dellavedova's habit of drinking coffee throughout games.
"Delly, one of the greatest Australians ever to grace the NBA. 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers champion. He's a big believer in just coffee, coffee, coffee. Coffee pregame, coffee halftime, coffee between the third and fourth quarter."
"So he had this game, the game of his life, in the NBA Finals in the '15s. They assigned him to Steph Curry. He's one of the greatest shooters in the history of the sport. He sticks to Steph for four quarters. Steph cannot get away from him. Steph is going crazy. The Cavs are huge underdogs."
The story is mainly around Game 3 of the 2015 Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors , with Kyrie Irving already lost to a fractured kneecap. Dellavedova had to take on an enormous role, including the exhausting assignment of chasing Curry.
Dellavedova delivered the game of his life. He scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds, and added four assists in 38 minutes as the Cavaliers won 96-91 to take a surprising 2-1 series lead.
Curry scored 27 points but needed 20 shots and committed six turnovers. But the physical toll became apparent almost immediately afterward.
"Delly scores 20 points. At one point, he's falling down in the lane. He just throws the ball up, banks it in for a three-point play. And there's women lining up at the end of the court to make out with Delly."
"He gets into the locker room after the game, after chasing Steph, having the game of his life, and he gets into the cold tub, and his whole body seizes up. He has a full-body cramp. And, you know, very Aussie of him, was not complaining. He can't move."
"They start an IV in one arm. He's not getting better. They start an IV in the other arm. He's laying there with two IVs. He can't move. They send him in an ambulance to the hospital. He played so hard, he sent himself to the hospital."
"And they said, 'Delly, you cannot have this coffee. You've got to cut the coffee down. You cannot be guzzling coffee before and after the game.' He says, 'OK, I'm sorry.' Comes back the next day and doesn't play that good. And before the next game, there he is. He's sneaking the coffee. I saw him in the locker room before the game."
"They lost that series, but they won the next year. And Delly was a hero in Cleveland forever. They just said it was dehydrating him or something."
The Cavaliers' medical staff initially gave Dellavedova an IV. When that wasn't enough, they administered another. Dellavedova was later shifted to the hospital , where he was treated for severe cramping and dehydration.
Windhorst said that the Cavaliers also told him to reduce his coffee consumption, believing it was contributing to his dehydration. Apparently, Dellavedova didn't listen for long. Before the following game, Windhorst says he personally spotted him sneaking coffee in the locker room.
The Cavaliers ultimately lost the 2015 Finals in six games, but Dellavedova's effort became part of Cleveland folklore. J.R. Smith later famously said that Dellavedova almost died guarding Steph Curry , remembering him submerged in an ice tub after giving everything he had.
A year later, Dellavedova and the Cavaliers got their redemption, overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors to win the 2016 title.
For Windhorst, however, the hospital story remains the perfect summary of Dellavedova's relentless approach.
"What more could you do to demonstrate what an Aussie is, to play so hard that you need double IVs?"
