2015 NBA Draft: Larry Nance Jr. Makes Nice With Kobe, But Can He Play Nice With The Lakers ?

When Wyoming forward Larry Nance Jr. was selected with the 27th pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, it may have come as a bit of a surprise to some people. But for people who paid attention to the collegiate landscape over the last couple of years, Larry Nance Jr. is a talent worthy of being a first rounder.

More from NBA Draft News

He has been one of the more dominant players in the Mountain West Conference over his last two seasons averaging 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in his junior year and 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds in his senior year.

At 6-foot-9, 227 pounds, Nance is an explosive leaper and strong finisher at the rim with the ability to step outside and knockdown shots from the perimeter.

He is the type of player that the Lakers would select because of his versatility, size, and ridiculous wingspan at 7-foot-2.

When the pick was made, no one was aware of any possible baggage or friction that could manifest itself at that time.

But as usual, social media is where dead issues always seem to be resurrected and that is where the potential drama surrounding Larry Nance Jr. was found.

It turns out that in 2012, Nance made a comment on Twitter about Lakers’ legend Kobe Bryant in reference to Bryant’s sexual assault issue in Colorado.

The tweet has been removed, but that did not stop the 24-hour news cycle from spitting this out for public consumption.

In the Tweet, Nance called Kobe Bryant a “rapist” according to probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com. This was something that Nance was going to have to iron out with “The Black Mamba” before they met up in Los Angeles, and that is exactly what happened.

According to an ESPN.com report by Baxter Holmes, the two ironed things out quickly and Kobe Bryant sees it as water under the bridge.

The article referenced an interview done by ESPN’s Jemele Hill on Saturday night where Bryant basically put the whole situation to bed by saying:

“There’s no need” (for any further discussion about the matter). The kid figured it out himself. He’s a kid, man. He actually sent me a great message [Friday], which is really funny. I looked at it [the message], and it was like, ‘This is when you know it’s about time to hang these things up, when your teammate writes you, “Hi, Mr. Bryant”. I was like, ‘What the f—?’ But it was really nice and apologetic about what had happened. I said, ‘Dude, listen. We’ve all said things and done things that we regret and wish we could take back. It’s water under the bridge, man. Welcome to the team.’ He writes back, ‘Thank you, sir.'” “

-Kobe Bryant

If Kobe Bryant feels old because a teammate had written “Hi Mr. Bryant” in a message, imagine how some hoop fans feel remembering watching Larry Nance Jr.’s father win the 1984 NBA Slam Dunk Contest when he was with the Phoenix Suns.

With the Twitter situation now dealt with, Nance Jr. can concentrate on being part of the rebuilding process that the Lakers have been going through over the last few years.

Nance is something of a rare breed in that he actually played four-years of college ball.

Playing four-years usually bodes well for players nowadays since they come into the league with a maturity that their one-and-done counterparts usually don’t have.

More from Busting Brackets

Home/NBA Draft News