It's a Family Affair
The Household Competition of Cleveland's First Family of Basketball
by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
10/16/19 | Cavs.com
Larry Nance Jr. is one week away from starting his second full season with the team he grew up rooting for. Pete Nance is about three weeks away from entering his sophomore season at Northwestern University after a decorated career at Revere High School in Akron. Their older sister, Casey, played four seasons with the University of Dayton – finishing her career in the school’s all-time top 10 list in rebounds and blocks.
In-between working on his Camaros and fishing for largemouth bass in the pond behind his house, Larry Nance Sr. doesn’t really play much basketball anymore. His number in the rafters and his name throughout the Cavaliers record books are proof that he’s done enough.
Aside from the Nance bloodline, the current Cavaliers have several father-son NBA connections.
Kevin Love’s dad, Stan, played four seasons with the Bullets and Lakers. Rookie Darius Garland’s dad, Winston, played with five different teams over seven NBA seasons. And assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s dad, Bernie, won over 400 games over his prolific coaching career with the Sonics, Nuggets, Wizards, Bobcats and Lakers – and is currently the Wine & Gold’s senior basketball adviser.
But no pairing pulls as much local weight the first family of Cavaliers basketball.
Larry Nance was a fierce NBA competitor and his son has proven to have the same fire. So what were the battles like in the Nance household while the Cavs’ current power forward was learning lessons from the Cavs former power forward?
Larry Jr. dishes the dirt on the household’s thrill of victory and agony of defeat …
Both Larry Nance Jr. and his dad have been part of the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest -- with Sr. winning the inaugural event in 1984.
Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images
If you had to break down the winning percentages of hoops competitions among your family, how do the numbers look?
Larry Nance Jr.: So, I'll start with my dad. My dad's the all-time leader. I would say my dad has won, probably, over 60 percent of all the games. He takes it very seriously.
Growing up, he won 100 percent of things – and this little 40 percent chunk that the kids have carved out now is only because his knees are messed up.
And I would say the next biggest slice would be myself, just because once I started winning, I started winning.
So I'd say me for about 25 percentage points. And then my sister is the last fifteen. And poor Pete has never won anything. Pete is just unfortunate. When he started getting competitive, I was hitting my prime. So ... good luck.
Pete’s different than my dad and I. He plays like a true guard – coming off pin-downs and shooting the ball. He's allergic to the paint, doesn't want any contact.
So we're very different. But in all seriousness – he's gonna be good.
So your dad is also the most competitive?
Nance Jr.: No, he was just the best. I would say the most competitive is me. I would cry if I didn't win – that type of thing.
Mom is definitely last. She's the least competitive person I've ever met in my life.
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I would say I'm first because I'm like the kid playing pick-up that has to win.
Then I would say my dad, after that. He's after me only because he loves seeing his kids do anything well. So if we beat him, it's OK.
Then I'd say Pete. Then my sister.
"We battled. It was me and my sister, quite often. And me and my little brother, all the time. But to be honest, it was me. Individually – I'm the issue."
Larry Nance Jr. on which sibling was the instigator
How do you and your dad’s games compare?
Nance Jr.: I would say throughout college and then my first couple years in the NBA, it was pretty similar. We were high-powered athletes that kind of stuck around the rim. Obviously, he was a big shot-blocker and I'm a steals guy.
So, we're different in that manner.
Hypothetically, how would your dad fare in this era and how would you fare in his?
Nance Jr.: I don't know. Because his whole thing, he was just a freak athlete – 6-11 and could jump out of the gym. I think players now are way more athletic than they were and stronger as well.
My dad was very athletic, but I don't know. I think obviously he'd still be very good in this era. But – just for the hell of it, for the fun of it -- he'd probably be a bench-warmer. (laughs)
I think, honestly, that my game translates more to his era.
You joke about beating up on Pete. What was it like trying to beat Casey on your way up?
Nance Jr.: Around middle school for me – around 6th, 7th, 8th grade – I really thought I should be able to beat my sister. Like, when I was in fourth, fifth grade -- yeah, she's 6-2. How am I going to beat her?
But then I started getting older and really expected to beat her. After that, I'd throw here a little elbow now and then. But she was always bigger than me, so she'd knock the hell out of me. And she didn't want to let it go.
How were some of the battles? Did your dad ever have to split you up?
Nance Jr.: He wouldn't, but sometimes the competitiveness takes over. And obviously my dad would never let us really get into it. But we battled. It was me and my sister, quite often. And me and my little brother, all the time.
But to be honest, it was me. (laughs) Individually – I'm the issue.
As a former slam dunk contest winner, has your dad ever given any of his kids a perfect “50” in driveway competitions?
Nance Jr.: He's almost never given any of us a “50.”
But he also doesn't like us dunking on concrete, so we would actually never do in the driveway. We would either come here (to Cleveland Clinic Courts) or just mess around at the local rec center.
But when Pete was young, he jumped off, like, a little trampoline we had – it had a Little Tikes hoop in front of it – and he did like a big 360!
So we all went nuts and that was a “50” for Pete's first trick dunk.
How has your return to Cleveland changed things for your family?
Nance Jr.: When I wasn’t on the team, (my dad) never wanted to overstep; he never wanted to come into the gym and have people be like: 'Oh, here comes Mr. Nance again’ where people were nice to him just because of that. He never wanted to be that guy.
But with me, being back, it's really kind of crazy. Like, it's kind of made the Cavs a family thing for us. Our games are now family events.
Growing up, we’d go to games every now and again, just like a special night. Now, every home game, it's mom, dad, sister, brother (if he's home) – like, everybody comes out.
It’s pretty great.