Richard Jefferson Calls Matthew Dellavedova 2016 Cavaliers' 'Hardest Worker'

Richard Jefferson told Matthew Dellavedova he worked harder than anybody on the Cleveland Cavaliers team that won the 2016 NBA championship.

The former teammates sat down for the latest episode of The Richard Show, Jefferson's interview program. Jefferson has been bringing members of that Cleveland team onto the show this summer, 10 years after the title.

Other players in that locker room, including LeBron James and Kevin Love, were obsessive about the work, too.

"I say this as a compliment to your work ethic," Jefferson said. "I would always say, if you worked 1% less, you wouldn't be in the NBA. But you worked harder than anybody on the team, and I would include Bron. I would include Kevin. Now, he's psycho. Some of the guys are psycho."

"But for how hard you worked with a level of consistency every single day," Jefferson continued, "you were pound-for-pound the hardest worker on the team."

Dellavedova had to work his way into the league in the first place. He went undrafted out of Saint Mary's in 2013 and earned a contract with Cleveland after playing for the Cavaliers in Las Vegas Summer League.

Two years later, injuries had him playing major minutes in the NBA Finals.

Kyrie Irving injured his knee in Game 1, leading to Dellavedova's start. Stephen Curry shot 5-of-23 in Game 2 while Dellavedova defended him most of the night. Cleveland won in overtime.

Dellavedova scored a career-high 20 points in a 96-91 win in Game 3. Afterward, he took an IV in the locker room and went to the hospital with cramping and dehydration.

Work was the part Dellavedova knew he could control.

"It means a lot, so I appreciate it," Dellavedova said. "You had a lot of teammates, and that's [work ethic] the only thing I can control."

His role was smaller when Cleveland returned to the Finals in 2016. Dellavedova played in six of seven games, totaling 46 minutes. He averaged 2.7 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assist, with Tyronn Lue choosing Mo Williams for Game 7.

Cleveland won 57 games that season, finishing first in the Eastern Conference. Detroit didn't beat the Cavaliers in the first round, nor did Atlanta in the second. Toronto extended the conference finals to six games.

Then came Golden State.

The Warriors finished the regular season with a 73-9 record and held a 3-1 lead in the Finals. Cleveland won Game 5 in Oakland and Game 6 at home to force Game 7.

The Cavaliers won 93-89 on June 19, 2016.

James chased down Iguodala for a late fourth-quarter block. Irving then hit a 3-pointer over Curry with 53 seconds remaining. On Golden State's subsequent possession, Love switched onto Curry and remained with him during a missed 3.

James was named Finals MVP.

The Dellavedova episode keeps Jefferson's reunion series going, which began in June.

Iman Shumpert appeared on June 4. Love followed on June 7. Jefferson met with Andre Iguodala on June 14 and J.R. Smith on June 18. Channing Frye joined July 18.

The Richard Show now has a wider audience as NBA TV, the NBA App, and the league's digital platforms began airing it on Dec. 24, 2025.

Several members of the championship team got together away from the cameras in June, too. James, Love, Smith, Jefferson, Frye, and Tristan Thompson traveled through London and Scotland, then went to France. Dellavedova and Shumpert caught up with the group in St. Tropez.

Irving was not there.

The current Cavaliers are coming off a trip to the Eastern Conference finals, where they were swept by the New York Knicks. Kenny Atkinson is going into his third year as Cleveland's coach.

James Harden's contract situation also remains open. Harden has not signed a new deal since declining his $42.3 million player option June 29.

Training camp opens in late September.

Milwaukee signed Dellavedova to a four-year, $38 million deal following Cleveland's championship victory. His first run with the Cavaliers ended there.

He eventually came back. Dellavedova returned to Cleveland in 2019 and stayed through the 2020-21 season before playing in Australia. Sacramento brought him back to the NBA for 2022-23.

All told, Dellavedova played 479 NBA regular-season games. He appeared in another 52 in the playoffs.

At 35, he went back to Australia and signed with the Sydney Kings in April 2025, after interest from Melbourne United, Perth, and Brisbane. Goorjian started him at point guard before later bringing him off the bench.

The season ended with another championship.

Sydney beat Adelaide in five games in the NBL26 finals. Game 5 went to overtime before the Kings won 113-101 on April 5 at Qudos Bank Arena, with 18,589 attending.

Dellavedova fouled out in the fourth quarter while guarding Bryce Cotton. By the end of the night, he had his first NBL championship. It was the sixth championship in Kings history.

Dellavedova has also played in four Olympics for Australia. His Sydney contract runs through the 2027-28 NBL season.