Larry Nance Jr. is a Cleveland Cavaliers player that I’m a big fan of, and I know I’m far from the only one.
When Larry Nance Jr. was a piece acquired near the 2018 trade deadline from the Los Angeles Lakers, I was excited. Nance then was clearly an energy guy and big-time high-flyer and could help the Cleveland Cavaliers on the defensive end.
Following the conclusion of the campaign and in the summer, LeBron James left to Nance’s prior team in L.A., and after Kevin Love went down due to toe surgery early on in 2018-19, it was evident Cleveland was rebuilding. On the plus side in relation to Nance, he then made significant strides in his game, eventually then having career-highs in points and assists per game with 9.4 and 3.2 per game.
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Nance also showed some real viability as a three-point shooter in his first season doing so at any volume, frankly, and hit 33.7 percent of his 1.5 three-point attempts. That was particularly promising, to go with Nance’s work done as a playmaker, which he showed with plenty of opportunities.
This now-past season for Cleveland, Nance took more strides as a player for the Cavaliers, as he is fresh off having a career-high in points per game with 10.1.
Along with that, he followed up his progress from the prior campaign by hitting a career-best 35.2 percent of his 2.8 three-point attempts per outing. That was often off of passes from Darius Garland and Kevin Porter Jr., for instance.
Nance also had 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Plus, thanks to a much-improved handle, he established himself as a grab-and-go threat following defensive rebounds, and showed promise via the post-up variety.
Nance is definitely one of the Cavs’ best team defenders and is more than capable of holding his own in switchout situations and getting through off-ball screens to contest perimeter shooters, too, and given his growth, we could see Nance at the 3 for stretches more often.
That was utilized by Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff some post-All-Star after he took over in that role leading into the novel coronavirus-induced hiatus and what would ultimately be Cleveland’s last part of 2019-20.
In any case, given his all-around impact, growth and him being an exemplary teammate and seemingly being a budding leader, Nance is one of my favorite Cavs players.
In that realm, Cleveland Cavaliers fans have to love Nance’s recent tweet in response to a Cavs clip.
Every since he’s been with the Cavaliers, Nance has seemed to be elated to play with the Wine and Gold. He grew up loving the Cavs and grew up in nearby Akron, and his dad, Larry Nance, is one of the best Cavs players ever.
In his day with them alongside Mark Price, Brad Daugherty and others, the big in Sr. made two All-Star appearances. In his six-plus seasons with the Cavs after being acquired as a piece via trade from the Phoenix Suns in 1988, Nance averaged 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 blocks per game.
Nance Sr.’s jersey is among those retired by the Cavaliers, but he granted Nance Jr. the ability to don his number 22 anyway, which has been cool to see from my perspective.
Swinging back to Jr., though, he clearly has a special feeling for playing for the Cavaliers, and his response via quote tweet to a recent team clip on Monday has to be something that Cavs fans love from the 27-year-old.
https://twitter.com/Larrydn22/status/1290404421290143744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1290404421290143744%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcavaliersnation.com%2F2020%2F08%2F03%2Flarry-nance-jr-shares-emotional-message-about-why-feels-lucky-cavs%2F
In the above interview featuring Larry Nance Sr. and Jr., the dynamic between the two both in regards to playing for the Cavs is palpable. It’s been awesome to know that Jr. embraces his rare love for playing for both the squad he grew up rooting for and for the team his dad was a star for, and in the clip he even said how “it was like a dream come true.”
It was really great to see the dunk contest memories for both as well, and Nance took home the first NBA Dunk Contest back in 1984 as a member of the Suns, while Jr. participated in 2018 with the Cavs. He honored Sr. in that as well, as the clip hit on.
Albeit it is also apparent that as Cavaliers Nation’s Peter Dewey alluded to, Nance Jr. is “hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and create his own legacy in Cleveland.”
On the floor in games, though, you see the way Nance always gives max effort night-in and night-out for the Wine and Gold, and this quote tweet in response to that above Cavs clip is something fans have to love to see from Jr., I’d imagine. That’s in addition to the video in general highlighting Jr. and Sr., anyhow.
It will be really fun to see how Jr., who previously signed a four-year extension with the Cavaliers before the 2018-19 season, hopefully continues to improve for the Wine and Gold, the team he has such a unique love for, in 2020-21.