Matthew Dellavedova sent a statement to Boomers coach Brian Goorjian on Sunday with a career-best performance.
Delly dropped 33 points and hit seven threes to go with eight assists in Melbourne United’s narrow victory over Goorjian’s Illawarra Hawks.
The performance was the most points scored in a game by a local player for United.
Goorjian and the Boomers coaching team made the call to bench Dellavedova for the bronze medal game against Slovenia, opting to start Philadelphia 76ers defensive guard Matisse Thybulle instead.
It was the biggest game in Australian men’s basketball history and Dellavedova barely played, sitting behind Dante Exum in the rotation after starting for the whole tournament.
The decision paid off for Goorjian and the Boomers, with Thybulle doing an excellent job guarding NBA superstar Luka Doncic, helping secure the medal.
Goorjian says that Dellavedova took the call in the fashion of a true leader, but would naturally feel driven to prove the doubters wrong in his next opportunity.
“I definitely think there was a message being sent for a number of reasons,” the Hawks coach said of Delly’s 33-point game.
“We made an adjustment in the (bronze medal) game and brought him off the bench and started Matisse Thybulle.
“All Delly wanted was the medal, but he does have pride and that was a really tough adjustment by the coaching staff and hard on him.
“The way he took it is why we got the medal, but underneath there’s a burn there.
“Coming into this game, I always say it, being the national coach there’s some advantages to it, but there’s a lot of disadvantages.
“Guys you’ve cut, guys that come in and want to show you and Delly definitely had a look on his face.
“He’s always competitive, but there was an extra sting to him of ‘hey coach here I am, have a look at this’.
“In all honesty, the guy is an absolute winner and he keeps himself in tremendous shape and coming into the Olympics, he was coming off a season where he virtually didn’t play the whole year (in the NBA).
“What’s going on at Melbourne, playing for a guy like Dean Vickerman, playing in an organisation like that and the role that he’s playing, I just think it is tremendous for him and a tremendous marketing tool for the NBL.
“Come over here, get your game back, move to another level and all ticks to him.”
Dellavedova has been outstanding for Melbourne United this season as a defensive leader, averaging 11 points and 5.6 assists per game.