Ten years after the historic 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers brought an NBA title to Northeast Ohio. And now, Richard Jefferson shared a candid revelation about the hardest worker on that championship squad. Interestingly, that person is not named LeBron James . Hosting his former teammate Matthew Dellavedova , on his, The Richard Show, Jefferson declared that Delly was pound-for-pound the hardest worker on the team, even surpassing superstars LeBron James and Kevin Love in his day-to-day output.
Jefferson's hyped the relentless, all-out intensity the Aussie brought to practice sessions every single day, often driving key starters to frustration while carving out an improbable career as an undrafted guard.
Both even confirmed Kyrie Irving was the "Teammate who hated your full-court pressure in practice."
"We love Kyrie. You pushed Kyrie to the point of frustration, right? And I mean in a positive, competitive frustration," Jefferson elaborated. "But I love the fact that you were taking the challenge against everybody at all time.
"Didn't matter. We practice shuffleboard, ping-pong, drinking, whatever it is. Beer pong. We had a great beer pong session. Okay, so Kyrie, but you were the backup point guard. That was your job."
It goes without saying that Dellavedova had a reason behind working so hard.
"Yeah. Well, you really should have seen it when I was trying to make the team in 2013," Dellavedova added, recalling his arrival in Cleveland as an undrafted rookie out of St. Mary's. "As a third/fourth string."
Jefferson went on to emphasize just how narrow Dellavedova's margin for error was, framing his insane drive as the sole reason he thrived in the NBA.
"I said this, and I say this as a compliment to your work ethic: I would always say if you worked 1% less, you wouldn't be in the NBA. 1%," Jefferson told Dellavedova. "But you worked harder than anybody on the team, and I would include Bron, I would include Kevin. "
After RJ fished for an acknowledgement to his bold praise, Delly humored him, saying, "It means a lot, so I appreciate it. You've had a lot of teammates, and that's the only thing I can control, right?"
When Jefferson pressed whether Dellavedova truly viewed himself as the hardest worker over megastars like James, the Australian point guard remained humble.
"I think I always aim to be, but seeing LeBron , how he takes care of his body and stuff," Dellavedova noted, and Jefferson understood what he was trying to say.
Dellavedova joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013 after going unselected in the NBA Draft. Known for his legendary conditioning, scrappy defense, and willingness to dive for every loose ball, Delly earned national recognition during the 2015 NBA Finals when he pushed his body to extreme dehydration while guarding Stephen Curry and had to be rushed to the hospital after the game .
LeBron James himself has defended Delly's relentless work ethic against critics during their championship run.
While James spent millions annually to sustain his legendary longevity, Dellavedova relied on sheer grit and consistent effort to stay on the court, proving that pure hustle can bridge the gap to basketball immortality.
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