The championship squad of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 will forever be remembered for their inspired run to the mountaintop, culminating in their historic comeback from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
LeBron James’ block. Kyrie Irving’s shot. Kevin Love’s stop. Three iconic moments that are etched in Cleveland’s sports lore.
But aside from the starry trio, the Cavaliers also had a bunch of role players who were equally instrumental in their seminal success: JR Smith, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, Timofey Mozgov, Richard Jefferson, and Matthew Dellavedova.
On his show, Jefferson gave Dellavedova the ultimate praise.
“I say this as a compliment to your work ethic. 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,” said Jefferson.
“But for how hard you worked with a level of consistency every single day, you were pound-for-pound the hardest worker on the team.”
Richard Jefferson says Matthew Dellavedova was the hardest working player on the 2016 Cavs:
“I said this, and I say this as a compliment to your work ethic. I would always say if you worked 1% less, you wouldn’t be in the NBA. 1%. But you worked harder than anybody on the team.… pic.twitter.com/14fEbukCyC
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) August 18, 2026
While Dellavedova never had eye-popping numbers, he was a fan favorite because of his hustle, tenacity, and toughness. He was always willing to sacrifice his body and do the dirty work. Everyone will remember his inspiring effort in defending Stephen Curry in the NBA Finals.
Dellavedova told Jefferson that he always tried to be the hardest worker and expressed his gratitude for the big compliment.
“It means a lot, so I appreciate it. You had a lot of teammates, and that’s (work ethic) the only thing I can control,” said the hard-nosed guard, who is currently with the Sydney Kings in the National Basketball League.
Dellavedova was part of the week-long reunion with his former teammates in Europe in June, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Cavaliers’ historic championship.