Matthew Dellavedova has been affectionately called a Neanderthal, a headbanger and a non-athlete in recent weeks, but from this date on he'll be known as a genuine NBA player.
The Australian Olympic point guard has officially become a member of the 2013-14 Cleveland Cavaliers. The team cut its roster to 15 players on Friday and after much speculation Dellavedova survived.
"Excited to be playing for the Cavs this year!" Dellavedova wrote in a Tweet accompanied with a photo of a locker emblazoned with his name.
The 23-year-old, a stand-out in US college basketball with California's St Mary's, made the NBA the hard way. He wasn't drafted after working out with numerous NBA teams, then he spent the off-season proving himself on the Cavs' Summer League team.
He wasn't as quick as the Cav's Australian-born star guard Kyrie Irving and couldn't jump as high as most in the NBA, but the 193cm tall Dellavedova's leadership, toughness and willingness to work won over head coach Mike Brown.
"I'd bet half my salary that I'd get a dunk before he does, and I'm not even playing anymore," Cavs coach Mike Brown joked recently with US reporters.
"He's a non-athlete, but he gets everything out of his body you could hope or ask for. That's all you want."
Former Boomer coach Brett Brown, who is now head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, promoted Dellavedova to starting point guard at the London Olympics.
When the 76ers played the Cavs in a recent pre-season game the former Australian team coach also gave Dellavedova a backhanded compliment.
"He's a country Victorian, true Aussie that is a headbanger," Brett Brown said of the Maryborough-born guard.
"He plays with reckless abandon.
"He at times might not be pretty, he's a little bit Neanderthal in how he goes about his business, but he's for real."
Dellavedova will be one of the lowest paid players in the NBA with a two-year partially-guaranteed $US1.3 million ($A1.35 million) contract, but you won't hear him complaining.
Australia's other NBA players are the Golden State Warriors' Andrew Bogut and San Antonio Spurs' duo Patrick Mills and Aron Baynes.
