“They Can’t Touch You”: Kobe Bryant Grabbed Larry Nance Jr. By the Jersey and Demanded Dominant Dunks

Former LA Lakers star Larry Nance Jr. talked about his early struggles with finishing at the rim, during a recent episode of the Run it Back show. Having played alongside Kobe Bryant for the first few years of his career, Larry Nance Jr. claimed that he did not have belief in his finishing ability at the rim, initially.

The 30-year-old talked about one specific incident that ended up giving him confidence, during a match against the Atlanta Hawks.

“We was playing the Hawks. And, you know like, I am an athletic dude, I came in an athletic dude, but I always thought like. I knew I was athletic, but its the NBA, these guys are bigger, faster, stronger, more athletic. So I tried to like finish around one time and missed,” he said, claiming that he then tried to finish around Paul Millsap. However, when that shot also missed, Kobe decided to have a word with the then-youngster, during a time-out. 

In typical fashion, Bryant wanted Nance Jr. to simply dunk at every given opportunity. “And, when we came to the timeout, he just grabbed my jersey and said ‘hey, I have seen you in practice. Just dunk everything. I don’t care who is there, they can’t touch you, dunk everything,”

Kobe’s confidence in his ability logically spurred him on, and Larry Nance Jr. ended up going for it during the next possession. “One of the very next possessions I caught the ball and then just, right on top of them both. And it just, that just spurred my career forward,” he revealed.

“[Kobe Bryant] having belief in me was all I needed to just really go do it.”@Larrydn22 says that Kobe Bryant told him to dunk EVERYTHING.

: https://t.co/wdT8I0ST8g pic.twitter.com/ynzmmLYU55

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) December 14, 2023

As it happens with every young player, Nance Jr. simply needed the confidence to get going in the big league. Looking back at the moment, he claimed that the first dunk made him realize he could do all the things in the NBA, that he was doing back in college.

The now Pelicans star commented that Kobe’s faith and belief was all he needed in order to genuinely go for it. Since then, of course, the player has established himself as one of the best dunkers of the current generation.

Larry Nance Jr. was initially terrified of Kobe Bryant

Back in 2012, a teenage Larry Nance Jr. had posted a tweet related to Kobe Bryant. The post referenced a 2003 sexual assault case against Kobe, which was later settled.

While Larry Nance Jr. was hardly the only source of criticism for Bryant, he eventually regained the lost sponsors and continued his legacy with the LA Lakers. However, when Nance Jr. found out he was joining the Lakers via the 2015 NBA draft, he was aghast, according to the LA Times.

“About 24 hours went past, I felt like I was going to throw up, sick to my stomach. I was just embarrassed in myself. I felt so bad about what I had said. I just wanted to apologize right away,” he said.

The tweet, however, was eventually said to be ‘water under the bridge’ by Kobe himself, much to the then youngster’s relief.  “Once I got the ‘Hey, you’re a kid. We’ve all said and done things we’ve regretted. It’s water under the bridge. Welcome to the family [from Bryant],’ I immediately felt my stomach release,” he revealed.

Hence, while there is no doubt Kobe could inspire those around him, the Lakers legend was equally capable of invoking fear in not just his opponents, but his teammates as well.