(Sports) Roundup: Aust'n NBA champion Matthew Dellavedova commits to Rio

The Australian Olympic team has received a much-needed boost, after a raft of withdrawals by high-profile athletes, with NBA champion Matthew Delly' Dellavedova announcing on Thursday he will compete in Rio.

The Australian Olympic locker room has lost some its most important firepower heading into the August Games, with world No.1 golfer Jason Day and defending 100m hurdles champion Sally Pearson announcing their withdrawals from Rio this week.

Day joins another Aussie golfer, Marc Leishman, as two athletes to pull out over fears from the Zika virus. Highly rated golfer Adam Scott also announced he would not compete in Rio because he feels the pinnacle of golf is the four majors each year, not the Olympics.

Pearson has had to pull out due to a hamstring injury, while Australia's top two male tennis stars, Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic, made themselves unavailable for Rio selection earlier this year. Kyrgios publicly clashed with Australia's Olympic Committee chief Kitty Chiller before his announcement.

However, Dellavedova announced on Thursday that the Zika virus, high crime threats and an undermanned Australian squad won't stop him from committing to the Australian Boomers' basketball campaign.

After a week-long celebration with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the US, the NBA championship-winning point guard returned home to Melbourne this week and told an Australian radio station he was ready for Rio.

"It hasn't really sunk in, it's been a bit of a whirlwind (winning an NBA championship), but I'm happy to be back in Australia and about to get started with the Boomers," Dellavedova said on Thursday morning.

"It was definitely my goal growing up as a kid out in (the country town of) Maryborough to represent Australia in the Olympics and play in the NBA ... those were definitely my two goals."

And while the celebrations took him from San Francisco to Las Vegas and back to Cleveland in front of a parade of 1.3 million people, Dellavedova still managed to represent his home nation by drinking a popular beverage in Australia, Corona beer.

"I'm not too into the champagne, so I had to find something that I was more comfortable with," he said.

The men's basketball team has their best chance at winning its first Olympic medal at Rio, after 13 previous appearances.

Dellavedova, who played in the 2012 London Olympics, joins fellow Australian NBA players, Patty Mills and Joe Ingles, as the confirmed star Boomers who have committed to compete in August.

There are still doubts over the availability of Australian center Andrew Bogut, as he continues to work his way back from a knee injury.

Bogut strained his knee during the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, a match up which featured two of Australia's most prominent basketballers.

"When I saw him go down that's the first thing I thought, 'Rio'", Dellavedova said at a promotional event in Melbourne.

"He'd have to have a miraculous recovery, so we'll see how he goes, but we would love to see him a part of the squad."

The Boomers will be without two of their most promising young players, after the NBA's No.1 pick Ben Simmons withdrew himself from selection to focus on his first professional season. Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum will not compete due to injury.

After a final selection camp next week, the Australian Boomers will head to Rio in anticipation for the August start. Endit