Larry Nance, Jr.

Playing with LeBron is pretty awesome.

I want to be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.

Getting the opportunity to shoot some, and feeling confident, did a lot for me.

Willie Green is a heck of a coach.

I've been wearing 22 my whole life and to get to wear it for the Cleveland Cavaliers is beyond a dream come true.

A hammer and nails and screws and all that stuff is just not for me.

Unselfishness is contagious.

I even have a... placard of Lamond Murray.

I'm kind of a nerd.

Certain guys, Los Angeles can turn you into something different. But me, I just want to play basketball.

I got picked by the Lakers, but I was told the Celtics were going to take me at 28. If it wasn't there, I was told Golden State was going to take me at 30, if I was still there.

I wasn't that talented, I wasn't big. So, I didn't have that many offers. Michigan was kind of sniffing around, but ended up not pulling the trigger.

Growing up, having the name 'Larry Nance Jr.'... in Akron and Cleveland, Ohio - that's not the easiest thing, especially when I wasn't very good at basketball.

If I got picked in the first round, second round, lottery, never picked - it wouldn't have mattered to me.

Getting to play with Kobe was awesome and just seeing Shaq, anytime, is unreal.

My mom, she is the least competitive person I've ever met - ever.

I got to work on creating my shot off the dribble.

The biggest thing for me is my confidence. I know I can shoot the 3, that I can shoot deep 2s.

One thing I can tell you, there's a place on every single team for a winning player. That's all I tried to be night in and night out.

I would describe myself as a winning basketball player. That manifests itself in a lot of different ways on a lot of different nights.

Mamba mentality, I wish more people got to see it up close and see it in person.

The Remicade is what keeps me healthy, and when that starts to dwindle a little bit, I feel it. I wouldn't say it affects me too much - I'm pretty good at fighting through it - but it's definitely something that when it gets to that time, I start taking more naps and stuff like that.

Coach Shyatt is all about defense. I mean, you don't even look at the offensive end of the floor until you learn to play defense.

I was more of a soccer player.

My dad never pushed me to play basketball. I tried it, and I was pretty rag-tag for a long time.

I try to key in on getting every defensive rebound.

That's a major part of my game. I pride myself on the defensive end.

Competitive basketball, when you strive to be one of the best teams in the league, all your games are competitive.

When I was younger and I played I wasn't really good at much. That was where I hung my hat was trying to be on the court because of defense, energy, effort and trying to win so I guess that attitude remains.

Crohn's is the reason I didn't go to a bigger school.

I like to think of myself as a very winning player.

Whether it's on the steals, on blocks or locking my man down, defense is always going to be there. That's my cornerstone.

If the offense isn't going, my defense is always going to be there.

I have to stretch the floor and create spacing for guys.

My tendency when I don't have the ball is to go to the rim. That's where I'm supposed to be.

I don't know if kids are home looking at energy guys like, 'Oh, that's my role, that's what I want to be.'

Energy's a skill and that's definitely something I'm working on at perfecting.

My main goal is the man I'm guarding doesn't score.

I know I can shoot, my teammates know I can shoot, my coaches know I can shoot. But it's hard to stay confident when so many of them just rattle out.

If there was one place I would've liked to play my first couple of games, it would've been at Staples Center.

Having LeBron as the north star for your franchise is very comforting.

With LeBron, anything is possible.

I don't necessarily care how much I score. I don't care how many rebounds - obviously I need those - but I need to stop my man from scoring and play great defense and all that type of stuff.

I personally know I have skill. So I'm going to keep the energy and let the rest fall into place.

I'm getting very comfortable shooting the 15- and 18-footer.

Sometimes the lowest body fat is not what's best for you.

Me, I've kind of prided myself on doing whatever it takes to win, whether I was with the Lakers or the University of Wyoming.

I'm an energy guy. I play with an incredibly high motor. I never take a play off.

As long as I got my chance to be in the NBA, I'm gonna cherish it and relish it for sure.

Every loose ball, I'm on it. Every offensive rebound, I'm chasing it.