If Andrew Bogut had got his way Matthew Dellavedova would be wearing a Golden State Warriors singlet in the NBA Finals, not lining up against him with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bogut's intriguing pursuit of the tough point guard from country Victoria happened around the 2013 NBA Draft.
Dellavedova was left sitting on the shelf, bypassed by all 30 NBA teams, and star centre Bogut, who arrived at the Warriors the year before in a controversial multi-player trade, had a chat with Golden State general manager Bob Myers.
"I was trying to get him (Dellavedova) here actually, but we didn't have a roster spot at the time," Bogut revealed to reporters after a training session.
Bogut had a high opinion of the fellow Australian Institute of Sport product.
He had followed Dellavedova's four-year stint at California's St Mary's College where the scrappy guard re-wrote the record books in scoring, assists, games played, three-point shots, free-throw percentage and also collected conference and Academic All-America awards.
At the 2013 Draft the Warriors went for a sexier international option, Serbian guard Nemanja Nedovic.
The Phoenix Suns drafted Nedovic with the 30th overall pick and that night traded him to the Warriors, but it was a blunder.
The Serbian ended up in the Warriors' development league team, was waived in 2014 and is now playing in Spain.
After the draft snub Dellavedova accepted an NBA Summer League invitation from the Cavaliers and his hustling, blue-collar play became the perfect match for the unfashionable, working class city of Cleveland.
"We had Nedovic and he was in the point guard spot for us," Bogut recalled.
"I was trying to tell Bob to get him (Dellavedova) in."
A year after Australia cheered Patty Mills and Aron Baynes as they helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA Championship, Bogut and Dellavedova will play key roles on opposing teams in the NBA Finals.
Bogut as Golden State's key rim protector and Dellavedova as the back-up to Kyrie Irving in the guard role for Cleveland.
Game one is in Oakland on Thursday (Friday AEST).
Bogut is aware of the historical moment for Australia and is happy for Dellavedova, but after 10 years in the NBA without a championship ring his focus is defeating the Cavaliers.
"It's good for basketball in Australia, but to be honest it doesn't really matter to me who we play," he said.
"We have one goal in mind."
