Former NBA star Matthew Dellavedova was named the NBL Finals MVP after a strong performance in the series. But at the trophy presentation, he was not willing to accept the award as he decided to give it to one of his opponents, instead.
Dellavedova, who won an NBA Championship with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2016, is now playing in the NBL in Australia with his club Melbourne United.
Melbourne United and Dellavedova came up just short of winning a championship over the weekend, falling to the Illawarra Hawks in Game 5 of the NBL Finals. Despite the loss, Dellavedova was named the NBL Finals MVP – but he refused to accept the award.
During the trophy presentation after the game, Dellavedova expressed his gratitude but made it clear that he felt Hawks guard Will "Davo" Hickey was more deserving of the award.
"Davo, this really belongs to you," Dellavedova said. "You had a hell of a series. Congratulations on the win."
Wow.
Matthew Dellavedova was named NBL Finals MVP despite his Melbourne United Club losing the title to the Illawarra Hawks.
However, Dellavedova said Hawks guard Hawks guard Will "Davo" Hickey was more deserving of the award. Delly then walked off stage with his MVP trophy and… pic.twitter.com/GtGLCNtBVY
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) March 23, 2025
"To our boys, thanks for a fun season. To our families, we appreciate everything you do," Dellavedova continued. "But, Davo, this is yours."
Dellavedova then walked off the stage and handed the award to Hickey, who was emotional in the crowd.
The video quickly went viral on social media, gaining more than 1 million views on the social media platform X, and it sparked a lot of reactions from fans.
"One of the classiest things I've ever seen," one fan wrote.
"Delly forever," someone else added.
"This guy is all class," another person added.
"Gotta respect Delly for doing this," someone else said.
Hickey did indeed have a strong performance in the series, particularly in the deciding fifth game in which he scored 21 points along with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Clearly, Dellavedova thought that should have been enough to earn him the award.
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This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 9:05 AM.