Larry Nance Jr.

On June 25, 2015, Nance was selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.[5] Shortly after the draft selection was announced, an old tweet from 2012 by Nance resurfaced, in which he referenced then-teammate Kobe Bryant's infamous 2003 rape incident. Nance deleted the tweet shortly after, and Bryant spoke on the tweet, calling the controversy surrounding it "water under the bridge".[6][7] On July 10, Nance signed his rookie scale contract with the Lakers.[8] He made his NBA debut on November 6 against the Brooklyn Nets, recording six points and five rebounds in a 104–98 win.[9] On December 7, he made his first start for the Lakers after replacing Julius Randle at the starting power forward spot against the Toronto Raptors.[10] On December 27, he recorded his first career double-double with a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 112–96 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.[11] On January 1, 2016, Nance logged a season-high 14 rebounds, along with eight points, in a 93–84 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[12] He matched this total during his next game, which was two days later on January 3, along with fifteen points and a steal in a 97–77 loss to the Phoenix Suns.[13] On January 14, Nance grabbed a season-high six steals in a 116–98 loss to the Golden State Warriors.[14]

On October 26, 2016, Nance made his season debut for the Lakers, recording five points, five rebounds and two assists in a 120–114 win over the Houston Rockets.[15] On November 1, he recorded a season-high six steals in a 108–115 loss to the Indiana Pacers.[16] On November 20, he scored a career-high 18 points in a 118–110 loss to the Chicago Bulls.[17] On December 25, Nance was ruled out for four weeks after suffering an injury to his left knee.[18] He returned to action on January 22, 2017, where he logged four points and a rebound in a 73–122 blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[19] Nance matched his career-high of 18 points on February 3, where he also grabbed 11 rebounds and four assists in a 107–113 loss to the Boston Celtics.[20] On April 2, he recorded a season-high 14 rebounds, along with 12 points and three steals, in a 108–103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[21] On April 9, Nance logged a season-high six assists, along with ten points and ten rebounds, in a 110–109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[22]

On October 19, 2017, Nance made his season debut for the Lakers, where he recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 92–108 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.[23] On November 3, he was ruled out for four to six weeks after fracturing the second metacarpal on his left hand the previous night against the Portland Trail Blazers.[24] He missed 11 games as a result.[25] Nance returned to action on November 27, where he logged nine points, eight rebounds and four steals in a 115–120 loss to the Clippers.[26] On November 29, he also grabbed a season-high five assists in a 123–127 loss to the Golden State Warriors.[27] On February 6, 2018, two days before he was traded, Nance played his last game as a Laker, where he recorded six points, ten rebounds and a steal in a 112–93 win over the Phoenix Suns.[28]

Nance in 2018

On February 8, 2018, Nance was traded, along with Jordan Clarkson, to his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a 2018 first-round draft pick.[29] After playing his first two games as a Cavalier with No. 24, he switched to No. 22 permanently on February 22 after the NBA allowed him to wear his father's retired No. 22 jersey.[30] On March 5, 2018, he posted career highs with 22 points and 15 rebounds in his first start for Cleveland, as the Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons 112–90.[31] On March 13, 2018, in a 129–107 win over the Phoenix Suns, Nance had only four points, ending his career-best string of seven consecutive double-digit scoring games.[32] Nance helped the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals in 2018, where they lost 4–0 to the Golden State Warriors.

On October 15, 2018, Nance signed a four-year, $44.8 million contract extension with the Cavaliers.[33][34] On December 18, 2018, he had 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, six assists and the first game-winning shot of his pro career to give the Cavaliers a 92–91 win over the Indiana Pacers.[35] On January 8, 2019, against the Pacers, he suffered a right knee MCL sprain.[36] He subsequently missed eight games.[37] On February 8, he recorded a career-high 19 rebounds in a 119–106 loss to the Washington Wizards.[38]

On February 12, 2020, Nance scored a career-high 23 points, alongside twelve rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks, in a 127–105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.[39] On February 26, he grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds, alongside 13 points and three assists, in a 108–94 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[40] On March 4, Nance grabbed 15 rebounds, alongside 19 points, four assists and four steals, in a 112–106 loss to the Boston Celtics.[41] During the 2019–20 season, Nance averaged a career-high 10.1 points per game.

On January 7, 2021, Nance scored a season-high 18 points, alongside three rebounds, four assists and three steals, in a 94–90 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[42] On January 31, he grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds, alongside two points and four assists, in a 109–104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.[43] On March 17, Nance scored 18 points, alongside ten rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 117–110 win over the Boston Celtics.[44]

On August 28, 2021, Nance was acquired by the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team sign-and-trade involving the Chicago Bulls.[45] He made his Trail Blazers debut on October 20, recording two points, three rebounds and two assists in a 124–121 loss to the Sacramento Kings.[46]

On February 8, 2022, Portland traded Nance, CJ McCollum, and Tony Snell to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomáš Satoranský, Didi Louzada, a protected 2022 first-round draft pick, the better of New Orleans' and Portland's 2026 second-round draft picks and New Orleans' 2027 second-round draft pick.[47] Three days later, Nance underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery.[48]

On October 1, 2022, Nance signed a two-year, $21.6 million contract extension with the Pelicans.[49]