“Rite of Passage”: Larry Nance Jr Reminisces Over Kobe Bryant Forcing Him To Give Up His Seat on the Bench

On the eve of the anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s passing, fans and players alike have taken to social media to reminisce on their favorite Mamba moments. Larry Nance Jr. has a fair few, having spent his rookie year alongside Kobe in LA. The most famous of those is the time Kobe asked the youngster to give up his seat because he was looking to sit down. Nance promptly obliged and sat on the floor of the Staples Center while the vet took his chair.

Speaking to Kevin O’Connor on his podcast, Nance looked back at that moment with nothing but fondness in his voice. He laughed about it with his host, before saying he loved what happened on that day. He added,

“It’s funny. That clip shows up every now and again, and I love it. I love it. I really do. Cos like that’s a rite of passage in the NBA. When an older guy who has more years comes in and says like I need that spot, you got it. Your years outmatch mine, I respect you and what you’ve done, and it’s yours.”

Hard to believe today makes 5 years. I spoke with @Larrydn22, who remembered the good times — like when Kobe made him give up his seat on the bench 😂🤣 https://t.co/URXVliUGrq pic.twitter.com/j1i5E0m2nf

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) January 26, 2025

While Nance made it clear he would’ve given his seat up for any vet, he added that had Kobe asked, he would’ve given him more. He joked about giving him the shirt off his back—and his shoes too—if Kobe so wanted.

The clip went so viral that even Bryant laughed about it. Nance revealed how he made the giving up of the seat a ritual with Kobe. Anytime he would come out of the locker room, Nance would simply present a chair to Kobe rather than having the vet ask him to get up.

With that being Kobe Bryant’s last year in the league, the amount of love he was receiving as part of his farewell tour was unmatched. However, this fun exchange between Bryant and Nance ended up getting a lot of negative media attention. The Hawks forward dismissed all claims and said it was simply a fun thing between teammates.

He added that the negativity the media was trying to imply didn’t exist, and if anything, the whole incident ended up pushing the team closer than ever before.

That was clearly visible in Kobe’s final game, as the rest of the team had no issues with funneling the ball to him every possession. In the end, only one other player scored in double digits, with Jordan Clarkson registering 12 points. Nance had 8 off the bench.