Lakers select Larry Nance Jr. 27th overall
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The Los Angeles Lakers selected Wyoming power forward Larry Nance Jr. with the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
Nance's father was the No. 20 pick in 1981 and worked himself into a three-time All-Star who made three All-Defensive teams and won a Slam Dunk Contest. The Lakers are hoping Nance the younger can similarly surprise, which is why they reached for him at No. 27. Few draft boards projected Nance would land anywhere near the first round.
With a torn ACL in his junior season now behind him - he also had mono as a senior and suffers from Crohn's disease - Nance has lost a modicum of explosiveness. However, he remains a solid athlete, a great shot-blocker, and an exciting open-court player. His jumper is respectable enough that teams won't be able to ignore him off the ball or in the pick-and-pop, and he profiles as an effective, if unspectacular, defender.
A 22-year-old with four college seasons under his belt, Nance would seem to possess in pedigree and experience what he lacks in upside. At 6-foot-8, it's tough to project a position for him in the NBA, but if he hones his jumper, he may be able to slot in at either forward position. He hit 33.3 percent from 3-point range in his senior season with the Cowboys, who he helped lead to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 13 years.
He was also recently drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters.