SYDNEY (Australia) - When does an elite basketball player, an NBA champion and long-time national team point guard like Matthew Dellavedova, think he's done all he can for the Boomers?
Not in 2025, when at 34 he believes there's a reasonable chance he'll suit up for his country at a fifth Olympic Games, if he remains healthy and in great form.
For that reason, Delly, who just finished his contract with Melbourne, has joined the Sydney Kings, who are led by former Boomers coach Brian Goorjian.
"The goal was 'What's gonna give me the best chance to make the World Cup and Olympics', and, you know, sitting down with [Goorjian], [Andrew Bogut], Luc [Longley] at dinner and just the shared history of going into battles together and the level of respect there, both ways, it just really felt like the right spot," he said to the Sporting News in Australia.
Former Boomers and NBA champions Bogut and Luc Longley are part owners of Sydney, and assistant coaches.
Dellavedova thinks the Boomers presence around the Kings will create a synergy that's conducive to making the Australia team in 2028.
"Basketball-wise there's nothing more important to me than that," Dellavedova said of playing for the Boomers.
EVERYONE'S JUST SO ALL IN ON TRYING TO HELP THE COUNTRY WIN
"It's what I've dreamed about as a kid growing up and it's something I've never taken for granted.
"It's just pure basketball where there's nothing else involved, everyone's just so all in on trying to help the country win, it's really a special thing."
Goorjian did not select Dellavedova for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. His leadership and connection to the players and the coaching staff was sorely missed.
"Obviously it was tough missing out on the World Cup, but to be able to work back in and make that Paris Olympic team, and then work my way into the rotation and really feel like I was making an impact on the floor and off the court, it gives me a lot of confidence for what I can do heading forward," he said.
No one, by 2028, is likely to have more than Dellavedova if he makes the team.
And when you think about his experience, it's mighty impressive. He had a legendary college career playing for the St Mary's Gaels from 2009-2013 and then, when many expected him to fail, never gave up on another dream, to play in the NBA. He experienced the thrill of a lifetime as a vital player in the Cleveland Cavaliers team that won the 2016 NBA title.
Delly famously filled in for Kyrie Irving in Game 2 of that series and locked down Stephen Curry to help the Cavs win the game. They went on to prevail in the series.
After coming up just short of helping Australia reach the podium for the first time at a World Cup or Olympics at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, when the Boomers lost in the final seconds of the Bronze Medal Game to Spain, five years later Delly was crucial as his national team won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
He's looking forward to being a King, and working with three amazing people in international basketball in Goorjian, Bogut and Longley.
"Goorj, obviously, as a head coach in two Olympic Games, the bronze medal in Tokyo, Bogut, as a teammate, throwing him lobs, trusting his communication on defense when I'm climbing into the ball," Dellavedova said.
"It's going to be fun working out the assistant coach player relationship, but he's someone who I have a lot of respect for and trust for just his will to win and competitive spirit.
"Then Luc as an assistant coach with the Boomers and just how caring he is and knowing that he only ever wants the best for me is a pretty special thing."
Dellavedova has signed a three-year contract with Sydney.
FIBA