Former Los Angeles Lakers big man Larry Nance Jr. will be playing in his first NBA Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Recently, he reflected on the journey.
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Larry Nance Jr. with the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Even though the Lakers didn’t have much success with Nance on the team, he was a solid player for the organization during his time there.
Despite Nance being a good player for the Lakers, they decided to trade him to the Cleveland Cavaliers during the season. By moving Nance, the Lakers were able to get a first round pick and cap space for next season in return.
Even though Nance hasn’t played a huge role with the Cavaliers, he has been playing pretty consistently for them in the playoffs. Recently, Nance spoke with Mark Medina of the Mercury News about getting to play with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Here’s what he had to say.
"“It’s been wild,” Nance Jr. said. “Obviously, coming into the league with the Lakers, our goals weren’t NBA championship. Being able to flip the script, end up on this team here, being the team my dad played for, being where I’ve grown up and the team I rooted for my entire life, now I’m playing with arguably the greatest player of all-time, and potential to win a ring, is pretty unbelievable. I got to play with Kobe Bryant, now I get to play with LeBron James, stories I’m going to have”"
While Nance didn’t get to play with Bryant in his prime, he certainly got to witness first hand what when into Bryant’s process. With the Cavaliers, Nance has obviously had a lot more team success than he did with the Lakers.
However, he has had the chance to play with two of the best players of all-time, which is something that most players have not been able to say. As the Cavaliers head into the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Nance will be facing a team he saw quite often with the Lakers.
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As big underdogs against the Warriors, Nance and the Cavaliers will have to be on their game if they want to pull off the huge upset. Off the bench, Nance can certainly provide a spark with his energy, and that will be something that the Cavaliers need in the Finals.