Ex-King Matthew Dellavedova returns to Melbourne United originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Delly is returning to Down Under.
Matthew Dellavedova is returning to Melbourne United of the National Basketball League in Australia on a two-year deal, the league announced on Tuesday, ending his short stint with the Sacramento Kings.
The Australian native spent the entire 2021-22 season with Melbourne before signing a minimum deal with Sacramento in 2022-23, featuring in 32 games before being unavailable in the playoffs due to undergoing finger surgery.
“I’m really excited to be coming back to Melbourne United,” Dellavedova said in a release. “I want to come back and win a championship here. It’s a great club that has a really strong culture and I’m happy to be back a part of it.
“I had a lot of fun the year I was here. There’s excitement about getting to play with a lot of those same guys we had success with a year ago. It was a great group of guys, some I knew and some I grew close with.”
Besides bestowing a vital locker room presence for a young Kings team, the 32-year-old primarily played emergency minutes for Sacramento, averaging 6.7 per contest and posting 1.5 points and 1.3 assists on a 34/33/57 shooting split.
A nine-year veteran, Dellavedova’s biggest achievement in the NBA came in 2016 when he helped the Cleveland Cavaliers win their first ever championship on a squad led by LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.