Larry Nance

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This article is about the former All-Star basketball player. For his son and current player, see Larry Nance Jr.

Larry Nance
Nance with the Phoenix Suns in 1987
Personal information
Born (1959-02-12) February 12, 1959 (age 65)
Anderson, South Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High schoolMcDuffie (Anderson, South Carolina)
CollegeClemson (1977–1981)
NBA draft1981: 1st round, 20th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career1981–1994
PositionPower forward
Number22, 6
Career history
1981–1988Phoenix Suns
1988–1994Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points15,687 (17.1 ppg)
Rebounds7,067 (8.0 rpg)
Blocks2,027 (2.2 bpg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Larry Donnell Nance Sr. (born February 12, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. A forward from Clemson University, Nance played 13 seasons (1981–1994) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a three-time NBA All-Star.

College career[edit]

Nance played for the Clemson Tigers, who made it to the Elite Eight in his junior year.

Professional career[edit]

Phoenix Suns (1981-1988)[edit]

Nance scored 15,687 career points and grabbed 7,067 career rebounds, but he is perhaps best known as the first winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1984, earning him the nickname "The High-Ayatolla of Slamola".[1] Nance was a model of consistency throughout his NBA career. He averaged over 16 points and 8 rebounds per game for all eleven seasons as a starter. His best scoring average year was in the 1986–1987 NBA season, where he averaged 22.5 points per game. Always among the highest in field goal percentage, Nance was an excellent mid-range shooter as well as a talented inside player.

Nance was involved in a trade between the Suns and the Cavaliers in 1988. Nance's stint in Phoenix came to an end on February 25, 1988, when, with the Suns struggling to a 16–35 mark, he was traded with Mike Sanders and Detroit's No. 1 pick in 1988 (used to pick Randolph Keys) to Cleveland for Kevin Johnson, Mark West, Tyrone Corbin and Cleveland's first (used for Dan Majerle) and second round (used for Dean Garrett) picks in 1988 and the Lakers' second round pick in 1989 (used for Greg Grant).[2]

Cleveland Cavaliers (1988-1994)[edit]

The trade worked out for both teams, as Nance proved to be the missing piece Cleveland needed to contend for a title in the East, while at the same time playing the role of frontcourt post partner to center Brad Daugherty before a series of back injuries forced Daugherty to retire. For the Suns, Johnson, Majerle and West became key players in the team's late 1980s and early 1990s success. Corbin, following a successful season in Phoenix, was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 expansion draft.

Nance missed most of the 1993–1994 season, including the playoffs, due to a knee injury which required two arthroscopic knee surgeries. After the knee did not respond to treatment during the offseason, he announced his retirement in September 1994.[3]

Nance was a 3-time NBA All-Star 1985, 1989, and 1993, and an NBA All-Defensive Team First Team member in 1989, and a Second Team Member in 1992 and 1993. He was also consistently one of the league's better shot blockers, averaging 2.2 blocks per game during his career. Upon his retirement, he held the league record for most blocked shots by any player other than a center.

NBA career statistics[edit]

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

Regular season[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1981–82 Phoenix 80 0 14.8 .521 .000 .641 3.2 1.0 .5 .9 6.6
1982–83 Phoenix 82 82 35.5 .550 .333 .672 8.7 2.4 1.2 2.6 16.7
1983–84 Phoenix 82 82 35.4 .576 .000 .707 8.3 2.6 1.0 2.1 17.7
1984–85 Phoenix 61 55 36.1 .587 .500 .709 8.8 2.6 1.4 1.7 19.9
1985–86 Phoenix 73 69 34.0 .581 .000 .698 8.5 3.3 1.0 1.8 20.2
1986–87 Phoenix 69 67 37.2 .551 .200 .773 8.7 3.4 1.2 2.1 22.5
1987–88 Phoenix 40 34 36.9 .531 .400 .751 9.9 3.1 1.1 2.4 21.1
1987–88 Cleveland 27 26 33.6 .526 .000 .830 7.9 3.1 .7 2.3 16.2
1988–89 Cleveland 73 72 34.6 .539 .000 .799 8.0 2.2 .8 2.8 17.2
1989–90 Cleveland 62 53 33.3 .511 1.000 .778 8.3 2.6 .9 2.0 16.3
1990–91 Cleveland 80 78 36.6 .524 .250 .803 8.6 3.0 .8 2.5 19.2
1991–92 Cleveland 81 81 35.6 .539 .000 .822 8.3 2.9 1.0 3.0 17.0
1992–93 Cleveland 77 77 35.8 .549 .000 .818 8.7 2.9 .7 2.6 16.5
1993–94 Cleveland 33 19 27.5 .487 .000 .753 6.9 1.5 .8 1.7 11.2
Career 920 795 33.4 .546 .145 .755 8.0 2.6 .9 2.2 17.1
All-Star 3 0 14.7 .714 .000 .750 4.7 .7 .7 1.3 11.0

Playoffs[edit]

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1982 Phoenix 7 0 18.3 .610 .000 .500 4.6 1.0 1.4 1.6 7.7
1983 Phoenix 3 0 34.3 .400 .000 .800 8.3 1.0 1.0 2.0 12.0
1984 Phoenix 17 0 37.2 .590 .000 .671 8.7 2.4 .9 2.0 16.9
1988 Cleveland 5 5 40.0 .531 .000 .889 7.2 3.6 .4 2.2 16.8
1989 Cleveland 5 5 39.0 .551 .000 .656 7.8 3.2 .6 2.4 19.4
1990 Cleveland 5 5 31.8 .578 .000 .750 4.8 2.4 .6 2.0 12.2
1992 Cleveland 17 17 40.1 .494 .000 .829 9.2 2.5 .8 2.7 18.0
1993 Cleveland 9 9 36.6 .565 .000 .767 8.2 2.3 .9 1.6 16.1
Career 68 41 35.7 .541 .000 .742 7.9 2.4 .9 2.1 15.7

Personal life[edit]

Nance's son, Larry Nance Jr., played college basketball for Wyoming before being selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. He played two and a half seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in February 2018. Nance granted the Cavaliers permission to let his son wear his retired no. 22 jersey.[4] Nance's daughter, Casey Nance, played college basketball for Dayton.[5] Another son, Pete Nance, played for the Northwestern Wildcats and University of North Carolina Tar Heels for the in college, and was signed by the Cavaliers in January 2024, making him Nance's second son to play for the Cavs, and third member of the Nance family overall.[6]

Nance owns a 1967 "Catch 22" Camaro NHRA drag racer, which his team races on weekends.[7]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 1984 Slam N' Jam: The High-Ayatolla of Slamola
  2. ^ "SUNS: Catch-22". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  3. ^ "Bowing to the inevitable". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 28, 1994. pp. C1, C6. Retrieved July 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  4. ^ "Larry Nance Jr. to wear his dad's retired No. 22 with Cavs". NBA.com. February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Casey Nance - 2011-12 Women's Basketball". daytonflyers.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  6. ^ Goldberg, Rob (June 29, 2017). "4-Star PF Prospect Pete Nance Commits to Northwestern over Michigan, Ohio State". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018.
  7. ^ Ex-NBA star Larry Nance is enjoying NHRA drag racing in his retirement https://www.foxsports.com/motor/story/ex-nba-star-larry-nance-is-enjoying-nhra-drag-racing-in-his-retirement-072916 November 15, 2016

External links[edit]

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