The Cleveland Cavaliers fielded many calls on Larry Nance Jr. ahead of the trade deadline. However, all of those teams were told that he wasn’t available.
Nance’s father, Larry Nance Sr. is widely known as one of the best players to ever put on a Cavs jersey. However, the organization clearly views him as more than just the son of a former Cavaliers All-Star.
“It’s his leadership and versatility,” Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff said. “He’s willing to take whatever role we give him. Whatever we need him to do, he has the skillset and the tools to do it, and the competitive edge as well. When you’ve got a guy who is in a leadership position and is willing to do uncomfortable things, it makes it easier on us as coaches to ask other guys to do it as well.”
When you look at the numbers, 10.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game, that completely justifies the versatility that his coach alluded to in those comments. However, the 28-year-old forward also recently showed how much of a leader he actually is following a loss to the Sacramento Kings.
“I’m frustrated with myself,” Nance said. “I missed three free throws. That’s unacceptable. I have to be better. There’s no excuse for it. I blame myself. I make two of those and it’s a different … we got a different thing going on. I gotta practice more. Shoot more. Get in the gym.”
While Nance shouldn’t completely put the loss on himself, it’s amazing to see that he was willing to hold himself accountable and recognize situations in which he came up short instead of pointing fingers. That’s what you want from your leader.
Not only is Nance great to have around the Cavs’ organization, but he’s also great to have around the community, as the Ohio native has helped raise awareness for local businesses hit hard by the pandemic by wearing their apparel so that he can be seen wearing it walking into games. He also auctions off his game-worn jersey and matches the proceeds to donate to that specific business.
In a rebuilding situation, it’s important to have high character guys like Nance on your team to lead by example and show the younger players how to conduct themselves on and off the court.
