Matthew Dellavedova is our new Grit King because of his relentless energy fueled by competitive desire — and coffee, it turns out. Apparently, Delly’s pregame ritual (every player has one) involves at least a cup of black coffee, and he got a halftime pick-me-up of another cup during Game 3, although there hasn’t been any word regarding whether that’s an every-game thing. Coffee’s nice — it gives you energy, and people need energy. The problem with coffee is that it dehydrates you, which can lead to cramping so bad you need to go to the hospital.
So yeah, Delly wants to avoid being hospitalized, like we all do, which means they’re no longer serving coffee at the Delly (pun courtesy of Jessica Hudnall):
Heard this week that Dellavedova is a “huge” coffee drinker before/during games. After cramps, he says he’s knocking that habit for now.
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) June 11, 2015
Dellavedova may have to give up coffee, but he can console himself with a big ol’ pile of money from jersey sales, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell:
On Wednesday, Dellavedova had the best-selling NBA player jersey on Fanatics, the nation’s largest licensed online sports retailer.
In fact, boosted by sales on Wednesday, more Dellavedova jerseys have now been sold in the Finals than had been sold during the entire regular season, said Fanatics president of merchandising Jack Boyle.
Boyle said a spike like this hasn’t been seen since Odell Beckham, Jr. snagged a football — and the nation’s hearts — with three fingers. Beyond jersey sales, Delly has given Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert a unique opportunity at some corporate synergy, since Gilbert owns poster company Fathead. You better believe you can get a Delly Fathead now, according to a company spokesman: “Delly fans demanded it and Fathead delivered.” (He said, blowing on his finger gun and putting it back in its imaginary holster.)
One question remains, however: Was coffee Dellavedova’s secret stuff, a la MJ in Space Jam? How will he fare without his precious caffeine (and don’t say Red Bull to me)? I think we can all safely assume that if Stephen Curry goes off for 40 points and the Warriors demolish the Cavaliers in Game 4, it was all because Delly stopped drinking his coffee.
