While Cleveland Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr. had an ephemeral stint alongside four-time MVP LeBron James, he quickly grew to believe that the Los Angeles Lakers star is the greatest player ever.
Most recently, Nance has pledged his allegiance to James in debates about who the best player ever is with his father.
“For me, the greatest player ever I’ve ever seen is LeBron,” Nance said. “And for him (Larry Nance Sr.), the greatest player he’s seen is Michael [Jordan]. It’s almost something like a TV show in my head of the new generation versus the old. We’ve been comparing and contrasting eras and players.”
The younger Nance, who got dealt to the Cavs at the 2018 trade deadline, played with James for the last half of the 2017-18 season.
Despite the brief period, the 27-year-old witnessed James’ greatness at another level.
The Cavs headed into the 2018 postseason with one of the weakest contending squads ever. Nonetheless, James made sure to give the franchise a fighting chance.
Over the course of the first two rounds of the 2018 playoffs, James hit game-winners at the buzzer against the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors.
In the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, the three-time champion willed the Cavs to victory over the Boston Celtics despite facing elimination.
During Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, he put up 35 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks in all 48 minutes of action to save the Cavs’ season.
However, James and the Cavs couldn’t find their footing against the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals.
While the forward put up 51 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals, the Warriors toppled the Cavs. Still it was quite the spectacle for teammates, such as the younger Nance, to witness up close. In the end, the Cavs got swept by the star-studded juggernauts.
During the 2018 playoffs, James averaged 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
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