Back on home soil and ready for the 2021 NBL Season

Back on home soil, Matthew Dellavedova is excited and ready to be back in front of Aussie crowds. After being a part of the Boomers successful Tokyo Olympics Campaign, Delly is excited to have timed his return to Australia perfectly with the NBL season.

Of what is normally a rushed return home to Australia in the offseason, outside of the NBL, Delly is looking forward to spending time with family and friends and doing different things around Australia.

While “there is nothing better than pulling on the green and gold, [representing] Australia at an Olympic Games is something [he] dreamed off as a kid” Delly was battling injuries throughout the year. While injury and setbacks are frustrating, they are a part of the nature of the sport. Delly said “the Olympics was a big goal to stay focused with rehab while keeping a positive mindset. I think it is important not to get frustrated or discouraged in rehab, try to break it down into smaller goals and what you have to achieve today to help you get better”.

With the 2021-22 NBL season underway, Delly is looking forward to playing a shorter season, where each game has more on the line and is more intense than his seasons in the NBA. He is excited to the fast pace of the game and the variety in defenses will be greater than ever. On the announcement that Spalding is the Official Game Ball of the NBL season, Delly “has always loved playing with them as a kid and in the NBA”.

Looking forward to this year’s NBL season, Delly hopes that United can carry the Championship over another year and is ready to do whatever he needs to do for that to happen. “I think this season is going to be really tough. There are a lot of great players and teams in the league and the quality continues to improve. You have to be ready to bring it every single night” he told.

While there are lots of things to love about this great game, “the teamwork it requires on both ends of the floor, the competitiveness and when things are really flowing, and everybody is in synch” are a few reasons why Delly loves playing Basketball.

As Delly continues to inspire and be a role model for young players in the game, he gave up three tips:

  1. Have fun – Basketball is the best, never forget why you started
  2. Be a great teammate – there are many ups and down in the game, season or career and you want to be able to support your teammates and have them support you.
  3. Dream big and work hard – don’t put any limits on yourself and set big goals. To achieve these goals, you’ll have to work extremely hard over a long period of time.

His final advice from all his coaches, teammates, and parents is to be encouraged and dream big.