Larry Nance

This article is about Larry Nance Sr.. For his son, see Larry Nance, Jr.
Larry Nance Sr.
Personal information
Born (1959-02-12) February 12, 1959
Anderson, South Carolina
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school McDuffie (Anderson, South Carolina)
College Clemson (1977–1981)
NBA draft 1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20th overall
Selected by the Phoenix Suns
Playing career 1981–1994
Position Power forward
Number 22, 6
Career history
1981–1988 Phoenix Suns
1988–1994 Cleveland Cavaliers
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 15,687 (17.1 ppg)
Rebounds 7,067 (8.0 rpg)
Blocks 2,027 (2.2 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Larry Donnell Nance Sr. (born February 12, 1959) is an American retired professional basketball player. A 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 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.

College career

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

Playing career

Phoenix Suns

Nance scored 15,687 career points and grabbed 7,352 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 Feb. 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.[2]

Cleveland Cavaliers

The trade worked out for both teams, as Nance proved to be the missing piece the Cavs needed to contend for a title in the East, while at the same time playing the role of frontcourt post partner to Cav center Brad Daugherty before a series of back injuries forced Daugherty to retire. For the Suns, Johnson and Majerle became key players in the team's late 1980s and early 1990s success.

Larry 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

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

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

Playoffs

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 26.2
Career 68 41 35.7 .541 .000 .742 7.9 2.4 .9 2.1 15.7

Personal life

Nance's son, Larry Nance Jr., was formerly a player for the University of Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team.[3] He was selected in the first round as the 27th pick of the 2015 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nance's daughter, Casey Nance, played for the University of Dayton Flyers women's basketball team. She also hosted a video blog called Casey and Co.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1984 Slam N' Jam: The High-Ayatolla of Slamola
  2. ↑ SUNS: Catch-22
  3. ↑ Larry Nance Jr. happy to continue his long, winding basketball road to Wyoming: Terry Pluto | cleveland.com
  4. ↑ http://www.daytonflyers.com/womens/basketball/caseyandco/
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