Story by KL Chouinard, Hawks.com
Malcolm Delaney has come to grips with being overlooked, even as he pushes to make a name for himself.
It doesn’t shock him that he was omitted from the draft pools of most fantasy basketball sites. It doesn’t surprise him that some NBA-based video games still don’t have him on their rosters.
“It’s the same thing that I’ve been going through my whole life,” the 6-foot-3 guard said when asked about it. “I don’t really care. They’ll see sooner or later.”
A 27-year-old rookie, Delaney speaks with an evenhandedness and perspective of a composed veteran. He shrugged it off when one media outlet failed to mention him despite discussing the Hawks’ point guard rotation in great detail.
“They didn’t even have me on the depth chart,” he said nonplussed. “Nobody has even said my name yet. I’d rather that, so that when I go out and do what I do, they’ll act like they’re so surprised. I’ve been putting in work for the last nine years, in college and overseas. All people have to do is look it up.”
Two things stand out about Delaney’s career: First, his coaches have routinely played him heavy minutes like a habit they couldn’t quit.
Second, Delaney wins. He wins a lot.
At Virginia Tech, his teams won 87 games in four seasons, a stretch that was arguably the most successful one in school history. In his final three seasons, Delaney led his teams in minutes played (among other statistical categories), including a whopping 38.2 minutes per game (out of 40) as a senior.
After getting skipped over in the 2011 NBA Draft, Delaney headed overseas. In 2011-12, he helped Elan Chalon claim the championship of the French Pro A, France’s top league. Delaney led the team in minutes.
The following season, he went to Budivelnyk Kyiv to play in Ukraine’s top division. Budivelnyk won a league championship; once again, Delaney led the team in minutes.
For 2013-14, Delaney went to Bayern Munich of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), Germany’s top league. Bayern captured the title of the Bundesliga, and Delaney won the MVP and Finals MVP awards (while leading the team in minutes).
In the two seasons before his arrival in Atlanta, Delaney played for Lokomotiv Kuban in the Russian VTB. Pairing with former NBA player Anthony Randolph, he helped propel Lokomotiv to a surprise 2016 appearance in the Euroleague Final Four. Playing in Euroleague, Europe’s highest level of competition, he and Randolph received All-Euroleague First Team honors.
And, of course, Delaney led the team in minutes for both seasons.
Over the years, coaches have relied on Delaney for heavy minutes because he does all the things one would want from the point guard spot. He uses his quick feet to defend on the ball and harass opponents. He sets up his teammates for scores, while scoring his own points through a mix a crisp pullup jumpers and drives to the rim. Perhaps most importantly, he competes to win.
Delaney’s numbers last season from the 24-team Euroleague testify loudly to his effectiveness.
Points: 16.26 per game (2nd in Euroleague)
Assists: 5.55 per game (7th)
Free throw attempts: 5.61 per game (2nd)
Three-point field goals: 2.26 per game (6th)
Total defensive rebounds: 96 (13th)
Free-throw percentage: 85.1 percent
Three-point percentage: 40.2 percent
Delaney’s coaches and teammates have eagerly pointed out that, because of his extensive pro experience, the 27-year-old guard isn’t a typical NBA rookie.
“He’s a seasoned player, and he has played in many big games,” Thabo Sefolosha said. “He is not a standard rookie coming straight from college. He is really going to help us also and give us a different option.”
Head Coach Mike Budenholzer expressed a similar opinion of Delaney, who has averaged 4.8 assists in just 18.5 minutes played per game.
“His maturity and experience level is very significant. He has played in a lot of big games at a high level in Europe – and been very successful. You can see it in how he is playing.”
The numbers that Delaney has produced aren’t hollow ones, either. The Hawks have outscored their opponents by 33 points in the 74 minutes that he has played this season.
A quick glance at Delaney’s locker shows his inspiration for making it to the NBA. On one pair of shoes he has three hashtags written on the heels in black marker. The first is #VD4, a nod to his older brother Vincent, who was shot and seriously injured hours after Malcolm signed his first NBA contract. The others, #FOE and #4100, refer to his favorite creed, ‘family over everything’, and the street number of the block on which he was raised in Baltimore.
Because of the proximity to Baltimore, Delaney expects a large turnout of family and friends for his game in Washington against the Wizards, and their presence was the primary motivating factor for his hop back across the pond this season.
“I was cool playing in Europe, and I made it to the top of Europe, and over there I would get the recognition I deserve,” Delaney said flatly. “I’m not saying that I won’t get it here, but I had built my way up over there to where people respect what I do. But my family always wanted to see me play here.”
Even though his father, Vincent Sr., played college basketball and Vincent Jr. played college football, Malcolm was the first in his family to play a sport professionally.
“With them being able to see me play, and all my friends, it’s extra motivation for me because now they’ll get a chance. It’s just good that I can represent my family.”
Expect Delaney to represent his family this season with style, grace and a brand of basketball that silently screams something to the effect of ‘he just knows how to play the game’. Showing that he belongs in the NBA is just one more occasion in which he’ll get to prove it.
