Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. is only in his sixth season in the NBA, but he has already experienced what some players don't in their entire careers. So far in his young career, he has played with LeBron James on the Cavs and Kobe Bryant on the Lakers, two of the league's generational superstars.
One historic event Nance was able to witness was the incredible 60-point finale that Kobe Bryant dropped against the Utah Jazz in the final game of his NBA career. The night of April 13, 2016 is one that will always stick with him and everybody else who was lucky enough to be there in person.
In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Larry Nance Jr. also talked about a wide range of other topics including his Cleveland Cavs, his small business initiative, the 60-point finale, and so much more.
“Disbelief,” Nance said when asked about the final game of the Lakers' 2015-16 season. “A little bit stressful, it was just disbelief. I mean, you know we had been through that, it was a horrible year, right? We lost so many games and he was so hurt and you could just see him pushing through and battling through so many nagging injuries and ice on the sidelines and stuff like that.
“To see what he did that last game was like, ‘Okay, I need to not mess this up.' Like I don’t know how, I just need to — me and Julius [Randle] were just trying to grab like hungry hippos trying to grab rebounds and give it to him, just no dribbles, no nothing. I just want to grab the rebound get it in your hands before I do something stupid. Like, just take it and go. And then once we, he turned it on and we started coming back and ended up winning that game it was like … it didn’t hit you until after the game like he threw a pass to JC to close the game. Jordan Clarkson and that’s when it’s like, ‘Oh shit, we just did that. He just did that.'”
Kobe Bryant finished with 60 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 22-of-50 shooting from the field, 6-of-21 from beyond the arc, and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line in the Lakers' 101-96 victory over the Jazz.
“It was unbelievable and we all ran back down the court and I think I was the first one there to go hug him and just like tell him, ‘Thank you.'” Nance added. “Just, ‘Thank you for this performance, thank you for this year, thank you, just thank you.' And then comes Julius, D’Angelo and JC to come hug him afterwards and it was just those moments are something I’ll always have, I’ll never forget. He’s just the man.”
Nance went on to say of all his moments throughout his rookie year with Bryant, but it was one after the final buzzer that he considers his favorite to this day.
“I think my favorite moment is that hug after his 60-point game. Just thanking him for everything you know his career, what he taught me, this game it was … the experiences you know just I think that was No. 1.”
You can watch the full podcast with the Cavs' Larry Nance Jr. on YouTube:
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