How NBA stars LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic influenced Melbourne’s NBL title bid

As he chases the NBL title with Melbourne United, Ian Clark tries not to think about his NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors.

Back in 2017, Clark was a young guard who played key minutes off the bench as Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant led the Warriors to the NBA title.

Ian Clark of Melbourne United hugs Jack White after their series win over Perth.Credit: Getty Images

It was one of the crowning moments of his life, but Clark, now 34, doesn’t need to call on the lessons he learnt with the Warriors because he lives them every day that he is on the court.

His Melbourne United teammates might not realise it, but Clark has been sharing that knowledge throughout his past two seasons with the club, including when he scored a career-best 38 points in their game-three win over Perth on Tuesday.

“In the deep playoff runs that we had [at Golden State], the attention to detail, getting your work in before and after practice every single day – those little things have stuck with me over the past 10 or so years,” Clark said after training on Thursday.

“I don’t think too much about that time of my life right now because I’m looking ahead and because I’ve been through so many experiences since then, but some of those core values that I learned, as a young guy on that team – we had Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West and Leandro Barbosa – those guys helped me a lot.

Steph Curry and Ian Clark at the 2017 victory parade in San Francisco.Credit: Rey Josue/NBAE via Getty Images

“I don’t want to call myself one of the old guys, but I am in basketball years and age compared to this group.

“I’ve been trying to use my voice a little more. I want people to see the things that I do and see the results – if you apply those things to your own game, your own life, then you’ll be able to have the same success.”

Incredibly, Clark is one of three Melbourne players who has an NBA championship ring, alongside Matthew Dellavedova (Cleveland, 2016) and Jack White (Denver, 2023). On Saturday in Wollongong, the teammates will chase an NBL title in first of their best-of-five championship matches against the Illawarra Hawks.

What stands out most about the trio is the burning motivation they carry after losing last season’s grand final series to Tasmania or, in White’s case, falling short during his previous stint at United in 2022.

United teammates Jack White and Ian Clark seek a rebound.Credit: Getty Images

“We are all certainly very driven to get this done. We had disappointment last year and last time I was here, so being on the court and winning a championship is something I’ve certainly thought about a lot,” White said.

“We are three wins away, and I think we are ready, we have the team to do it.”

Dellavedova, 34, has been a stalwart for United in the past two seasons since returning from the US for a year with the Sacramento Kings, but he has yet to steer his club to an NBL title.

With his contract at United coming to an end after this series, there is a feeling his time is now.

Matthew Dellavedova (right) shows his appreciation to teammate Kyrie Irving as NBA great LeBron James looks to get in on the action in their time at the Cleveland Cavaliers.Credit: AP

One of the many lessons he picked up playing alongside LeBron James and other stars at the Cavaliers was the way they turned their desperation to win into a focus on details.

“It usually comes down to those 50-50 rebounds, those loose balls and executing your scouting report,” Dellavedova said.

“You have to expect both teams will be doing everything right, so you have to make sure everyone is ready to go and knows how important it is to be the first team to win those 50-50 plays.”

Both Dellavedova and White see similar traits from their championship teams with how this United team behaves.

Matthew Dellavedova of United wrestles for the ball against Perth Wildcats.Credit: Getty Images

Just as LeBron, Kyrie Irving and other leading Cavs would speak up to fine-tune the game plan, Dellavedova sees this side having a high level of engagement.

“[In Cleveland] walking through our scout[ing duties], everyone would be having their input about what they see and what we need to do. I feel like it is similar with this group,” Dellavedova said.

White, 27, was a two-way player with the Nuggets, so tried to soak up everything he could from superstar Nikola Jokic, but what stuck with him was the way veterans, such as Jeff Green, Ish Smith and DeAndre Jordan, sacrificed their game for their team.

“You can’t discount just how crucial it is to have people you trust in the locker room, people to pick you up when you are down, people who actually care,” White said.

“I wouldn’t say it was the biggest shock, but what I didn’t necessarily expect, when I went to the NBA, was how elite the locker room was in Denver.

“It was a very talented group with great veterans, but having great people who had each other’s backs goes a long way.”

White echoes the thoughts of his United teammates when he describes what they take from the experiences of Dellavedova and Clark.

“It’s poise, confidence, control – they just ooze confidence, they are never rattled,” White said.

“I think as a teammate and especially as a younger guy, you look at these guys and they are solid. They get it done themselves, but they also make other guys better.”

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