Larry Nance Jr. facts for kids
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Nance with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021
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| No. 22 – Cleveland Cavaliers | |
|---|---|
| Power forward / center | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 1, 1993 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| High school | Revere (Richfield, Ohio) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Wyoming (2011–2015) |
| NBA Draft | 2015 / Round: 1 / Pick: 27th overall |
| Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
| Pro career | 2015–present |
| League | NBA |
| Career history | |
| 2015–2018 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2018–2021 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2021–2022 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 2022–2024 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| 2024–2025 | Atlanta Hawks |
| 2025–present | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Larry Donnell Nance Jr. (born January 1, 1993) is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Many consider him one of the best big players to ever play in the Mountain West Conference. Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball for the Wyoming Cowboys. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him as the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Nance has also played for the Portland Trail Blazers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Atlanta Hawks.
Contents
- Early Basketball Journey
- Professional Basketball Career
- Career Statistics
- Personal Life and Family
- See also
Early Basketball Journey
High School Years
Larry Nance Jr. went to Revere High School in Ohio. When he was a freshman, he played point guard and was 5 feet 11 inches tall. By his senior year, he had grown to 6 feet 7 inches. In his final year, he averaged 18.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game.
College Career at Wyoming
Nance played four years of college basketball at Wyoming. In 123 games, he averaged 11.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocks. He was a key player for the Wyoming Cowboys.
Professional Basketball Career
Playing for the Los Angeles Lakers (2015–2018)
Starting in the NBA (2015–16)
On June 25, 2015, the Los Angeles Lakers picked Nance 27th overall in the 2015 NBA draft. He signed his first contract with the Lakers on July 10. Nance made his NBA debut on November 6, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds. On December 7, he started his first game for the Lakers. He achieved his first "double-double" (scoring double digits in two categories) on December 27. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds in that game. On January 1, 2016, Nance grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds.
Second Season with the Lakers (2016–17)
Nance started his second season on October 26, 2016. He scored a career-high 18 points on November 20. In December, he had a left knee injury and missed about a month of games. He returned to play on January 22, 2017. On February 3, he matched his career-high of 18 points and also had 11 rebounds. He grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds on April 2.
Final Season with the Lakers (2017–18)
Nance began the 2017–18 season with a double-double on October 19. He scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds. In November, he fractured his left hand and missed 11 games. He returned to action on November 27. His last game as a Laker was on February 6, 2018.
Joining the Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–2021)
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On February 8, 2018, Nance was traded to his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. He switched his jersey number to 22, which was his father's retired number. On March 5, 2018, Nance had career highs with 22 points and 15 rebounds in his first start for Cleveland. He helped the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals in 2018, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
On October 15, 2018, Nance signed a new contract with the Cavaliers. On December 18, 2018, he scored 15 points and had a career-high 16 rebounds. He also made the game-winning shot for the Cavaliers. In January 2019, he sprained his right knee and missed eight games. On February 8, he grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds.
On February 12, 2020, Nance scored a career-high 23 points. He also had 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. He grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds on February 26. During the 2019–20 season, Nance averaged a career-high 10.1 points per game.
In the 2020–21 season, Nance scored a season-high 18 points on January 7, 2021. He grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds on January 31.
Time with the Portland Trail Blazers (2021–2022)
On August 28, 2021, Nance joined the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade. He made his debut for the Trail Blazers on October 20.
Playing for the New Orleans Pelicans (2022–2024)
On February 8, 2022, Portland traded Nance to the New Orleans Pelicans. Three days later, he had surgery on his right knee. On October 1, 2022, Nance signed a new contract with the Pelicans.
Short Stint with the Atlanta Hawks (2024–2025)
On July 6, 2024, Nance was traded to the Atlanta Hawks. He played 24 games for Atlanta during the 2024–25 NBA season. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. On March 26, 2025, Nance was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
Returning to Cleveland (2025–Present)
On July 6, 2025, Larry Nance Jr. signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers again. He is currently playing for them.
Career Statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
NBA Regular Season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | L.A. Lakers | 63 | 22 | 20.1 | .527 | .100 | .681 | 5.0 | .7 | .9 | .4 | 5.5 |
| 2016–17 | L.A. Lakers | 63 | 7 | 22.9 | .526 | .278 | .738 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | .6 | 7.1 |
| 2017–18 | L.A. Lakers | 42 | 17 | 21.9 | .601 | .250 | .632 | 6.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | .5 | 8.6 |
| Cleveland | 24 | 9 | 20.8 | .550 | .125 | .720 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 1.2 | .8 | 8.9 | |
| 2018–19 | Cleveland | 67 | 30 | 26.8 | .520 | .337 | .716 | 8.2 | 3.2 | 1.5 | .6 | 9.4 |
| 2019–20 | Cleveland | 56 | 10 | 26.3 | .531 | .352 | .676 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .4 | 10.1 |
| 2020–21 | Cleveland | 35 | 27 | 31.2 | .471 | .360 | .612 | 6.7 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .5 | 9.3 |
| 2021–22 | Portland | 37 | 11 | 23.2 | .515 | .306 | .653 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .4 | 6.9 |
| New Orleans | 9 | 0 | 20.2 | .551 | .500 | 1.000 | 4.3 | .9 | .6 | .8 | 7.3 | |
| 2022–23 | New Orleans | 65 | 1 | 21.2 | .610 | .333 | .696 | 5.4 | 1.8 | .9 | .6 | 6.8 |
| 2023–24 | New Orleans | 61 | 0 | 19.9 | .573 | .415 | .770 | 5.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | .3 | 5.7 |
| 2024–25 | Atlanta | 24 | 3 | 19.3 | .516 | .447 | .692 | 4.3 | 1.6 | .8 | .5 | 8.5 |
| Career | 546 | 137 | 23.1 | .539 | .353 | .696 | 6.1 | 1.9 | 1.1 | .5 | 7.7 | |
NBA Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Cleveland | 20 | 0 | 15.4 | .683 | .000 | .452 | 4.5 | .9 | .8 | .7 | 4.8 |
| 2022 | New Orleans | 6 | 0 | 21.6 | .564 | .222 | .818 | 5.8 | 1.8 | .5 | .3 | 9.2 |
| 2024 | New Orleans | 4 | 0 | 21.1 | .588 | .250 | .667 | 8.3 | 1.8 | .5 | .0 | 6.3 |
| Career | 30 | 0 | 17.4 | .629 | .214 | .563 | 5.3 | 1.2 | .7 | .5 | 5.9 | |
College Statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | Wyoming | 33 | 0 | 17.9 | .462 | .333 | .814 | 4.0 | .4 | .8 | .6 | 4.1 |
| 2012–13 | Wyoming | 33 | 33 | 32.0 | .533 | .345 | .750 | 6.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | .7 | 10.7 |
| 2013–14 | Wyoming | 26 | 26 | 34.7 | .544 | .243 | .758 | 8.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 15.4 |
| 2014–15 | Wyoming | 31 | 31 | 34.9 | .514 | .333 | .786 | 7.2 | 2.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 16.1 |
| Career | 123 | 90 | 29.5 | .521 | .308 | .771 | 6.6 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 11.3 | |
Personal Life and Family
Larry Nance Jr. is the son of Larry Nance, Sr., who was also a professional basketball player. His father played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns. Larry Nance Sr. was an NBA All-Star three times. He also won the very first Slam Dunk Contest.
Larry Nance Jr. took part in the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest. He finished in second place. One of his dunks was a special tribute to his father. He wore a retro 1984 Phoenix Suns uniform. He performed a "cradle dunk," just like his father did when he won the first dunk contest. Later, Larry Sr. and Jr. teamed up for an alley-oop dunk. His father threw the ball up, and Larry Jr. slammed it through the hoop.
When he was 16, Larry Nance Jr. was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. This is a condition that affects the digestive system.
Larry Jr. has an older sister named Casey, who played basketball at Revere High School. She also played for the NCAA Division I Dayton Flyers for four years. His younger brother, Pete, also played basketball at Revere High School. Pete played college basketball at Northwestern and later at the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program.
Outside of basketball, Nance is a fan of the soccer club Leeds United. In 2023, he became a part-owner of the team. This happened through the 49ers Enterprises, which is an investment group.
In 2018, Larry Nance Jr. married his longtime girlfriend, Hailey Pince.
See also
In Spanish: Larry Nance, Jr. para niños
- List of second-generation NBA players
