Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective - Cavs Ready For Finals Contention? + Why NBA Players Love Soccer With Larry Nance Jr.

Episode Date: August 22, 2025

Brian Windhorst is joined by ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon and special guest Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. to talk about the Cavs’ upcoming season. The guys break down if Cleveland is ready to take a step forward when it comes to the playoffs before diving into Larry’s involvement as a minority owner with Leeds United and the greater soccer community growing in the NBA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, sports fans, the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events, ESPN shows, and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN Unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.esPN.com to learn how to access your account or sign up, then start streaming in the ESPN app. It's all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. Hello, welcome the HOOC collective podcast. We talk about the NBA, which we are doing moments after Leeds United beat Everton 1-0 in the Premier League opener for them, which I will explain to you in just a moment.

But first off, joining us, joining us from New Jersey is Tim Bonteps. Hello, everybody. Joining us from Dallas, Texas is Ban McMan. Howdy partners. And now our special guest who is absolutely fired up. We are taping this, like literally moments after Leeds United, the British soccer team, just returning to the Premier League, the top league in England. Their opener was this day, Monday, is when we're doing this.

They played Everton in the first game. And yes, our guest is Friend of the Pod and Cleveland Cavaliers Center forward, Larry Nance Jr. But he's also a minority owner of Leeds United, who, and he's just floating on air after watching Leeds pull out a victory with a penalty late in regulation.

Larry, you've won some big games in your career, but you are. Your watch was just alerted you that you were working out. Like, you were just on your couch. No, I'm sitting on my couch, and my Apple Watch was alerting me that my rings were close to closing,

which means the work is almost complete, which is not great for August, you know, August, wherever we're at. So I got to go. good workout in just watching my team play. It was great. Yeah. So we had to wait for after this, but I was a little bit worried. Like, you know, obviously it was a big day no matter what. Leeds is back in the premiership. And, you know, for, you know, we talk about the NBA. But, you know, I like to think that we have a cultured audience that understands, you know,

international sport. And certainly we have a lot of overseas listeners. So they get like how big of a deal this is. And you've owned, you've been a part owner for like, is this your third season? Going on third. Yes. So like you've watched the team rise up. Like, I mean, can you compare this to anything that you've done on the basketball court? Oh, man. I can't compare this to anything basketball-wise just because, like, I'm good at basketball, right? I play it.

That's the reason I play it. But like my true passion, like, I really, if I could like take my talent from basketball and put it in another sport, I do it for soccer and a heartbeat. it's just been one of the joys in my career to be able to watch this team go just being able to be a part of it. Win and loss, it's been, I wouldn't trade for the world.

Excuse my ignorance, but how close was when Leeds qualified out of the championship? So just to educate our fans, every year the Premier League is the top 20 teams in England. The bottom three teams get demoted, which would be actually amazing for the NBA. It's another topic for another day. And the top three teams,

and the two it's what's the second division which is known as the championship get promoted how close did leads get what was the drama like when you when you give you a hint brian this is where they finished they finished first so there wasn't there was no drama and we did it the best way possible no drama going up as champs we had a parade it was beautiful so all right that's great like this man really just uh almost cemented that a little bit not only were they promoted they were promoted by winning six nothing at home in the game that decided. I understand. We're in America, so I'm saying nothing. But that's a pretty relaxed way, I would say, to move up to the Premier League.

No, we floated there. We floated there. It was great. And are you going to go over pretty soon before the season and get to see them play in some Premier League games, right? Some matches. Oh, yeah. I mean, I go over after the end of my season and before the end of my season. So we're going, we're headed over November 30th. We'll catch them, catch them at home again. They play Newcastle.

Oh, that's a tough, that's a tough one. Where'd the soccer fan of come from in general? Like, obviously your dad was an NBA player and you're an NBA player. Your dad was in the stock car racing, so I don't know where the soccer been cared from. Yeah, where did the fan of come from? It was actually basketball that was late in my life. I played soccer from the moment I could,

my friends played. As a kid, you know, that was what I wanted to do. And I played soccer for 15, 14 years of my life. And then eventually got too big and they tried to put me in gold. So I quit and decided to pick up the orange round. Yeah. The area where you're from is just outside. I think you're just outside Akron now.

Revere is known. They have good soccer program. Yeah, very much so. Yeah. While I was there, we went to states and won states a few times. So it was something that I was, you know, itching to be a part of. Not for you. You know, you were good.

No, no. It was either between the goalposts or not at all, and I chose to pursue other things. All right. Well, you have a cool announcement that we're going to get to in a few minutes, but we have talked about some NBA stuff first. Have you ever been a free agent? No.

Before this year? No, no. So this was a new thing. You were an unrestricted free agent this season. And how did that, first off, how did that play out? What was that experience like? I hated it. Really, really, really.

did not enjoy it. I like being employed. So do we. I'm being employed, you know. No, it's, I like, for me, I've always found one of the parts of my job that I enjoy the most is investing into the program, the organization, the community that I'm part of. And, you know, I did that in Cleveland, and I did that in New Orleans, and I did that at the places that I've gotten to stay at multiple years. And, you know, so for me, being a free agent, knowing that, like, well, I could, might go back to Atlanta. I don't know.

We'll see. It felt very like, it felt very like I didn't have much control over it at all. And, but it ended pretty well. And I'm happy to be home back in Cleveland. It's been great. Yeah. For the moment you got traded out of Cleveland, when I know you were interested in coming back, which I think that trade, is that finally, that they?

finally satisfied that trade? There was a first round pick in that deal. Did that finally get satisfied by Tempts? He was... Yes, I think, I think it has been. Okay. So how much recruiting is going on for a player like you who has multiple options and, you know, there's certain things, there's other things that come in to play besides money? Like, how much were you hearing from like players and stuff trying to get you like, you know, that week in June, July, whatever it was. How, what was that, you know, experience? A good amount. I was hearing from, you know, just a bunch of my friends in the league like, hey, what's going on?

You know, we could use somebody like you, stuff like that. You know, but for me, it was, it was just a multi-fasted decision. Yeah, obviously, I have two, my wife, my wife and I have two kids, four and one. We definitely, ideally would have wanted to raise them. you know, kind of on the east near my parents, so it's easy for them to see them and my brother and sister are here as well.

And, you know, and then role comes into play. And, you know, it was hard not to watch the past few years of the Cavs being in the playoffs. You know, being a Caps fan, you know, I've said it time and time again, you know, when I'm on different teams, like I would love for the Cavs to go 80 and 2, you know,

just lose against whoever I'm playing for at the time. So being able to, you know, watching the past few years the calves in the playoffs. It was hard not to kind of look at what I do and go like, man, it seems like a pretty good puzzle piece fit here. And it's felt that way since I've

got here. More hoop collective podcast after this. Just in case people don't know, your dad played for the cows for like 10 years. You grew up, you know, going to games. Where you live is basically down the road from where the calves used to play. Now it's an empty field. You'd never know. I always tell people, Larry,

like, if I took some who didn't know past the site of where the Richfield Coliseum was and said right over there in that field is where Michael Jordan hit one of the most famous shots in the history of the sport. Whoa, why are we bringing up? Well, I'm just, I'm just saying for the average. Not a good memory, remember. I understand, but just for the, Larry was probably like two when that happened. It was a pretty historical moment.

I was just saying, like, if I said to you that this empty field, there's literally nothing there was one of the word of great, you would like say you're out of the, of your mind. But anyway, Larry is from there. So that's, you know, it's not, it's not like your Leeds United fandom. You know, you're invested in the team. You're like, you know, you're invested in the cab. So when they came, obviously, that was a factor. But, you know, they needed some size and some versatility defensively. And so I assume that played into what the role you're talking about. Yeah, absolutely it did. As well as, as well as my, you know, over the past few years, I've really worked hard to develop my three-point shot. And that's, that's really, you know,

been a huge asset from my game over the past few years. So, you know, their front court, you know, Evan and Jarrett are obviously all-star, you know, super defensive player. They're awesome. You know, but the one thing that I really think that I can help them with is, you know, adding a player in the front court that can bring your big out of, bring your big away from the rim a little bit, you know, stretch the court from the corner, stretch the court from the top of the key, wherever I may be at, you know, at this point in my career, you really have to

garden from out there. So it'll be a new look for for Kenny to toy with. 45% on threes last year, Mr. Nance, on three a game. That's not bad. That's not bad. We just got to get the sample sides up now. Well, three a game is still quite bad. I'm looking early in your career here. Your first

year, you shot 10%. Your second, you shot 27%. Third year, you shot 16. If I told you, you would have been shooting three a game and making 45 percent seven or eight years ago you'd have probably thought I was crazy so well I definitely got it going I also got drafted as an undersized power forward then started it at small forward for the calves and now I'm a backup center so the way the games changed the way the games changed everybody versatility is the name of the game and so again trying to prolong this career and trying to you know squeeze every ounce of ability I've got out of myself so I don't look back with any regrets you know I put a lot

to work into my shot. I'm very proud of that. I'm very proud of the numbers I've been shooting. So, you know, hopefully I can just, that keeps translating here. So obviously the Cavs had 60 wins last year. What did they have? 62 wins, something like that. 64, who's counting? 64? Well, I'm in trouble.

This guy, this guy definitely knows the exact number. There's nobody here than Larry Natside with the Cavs and the leader of Cavs corner right here. This guy was fired us. 64, but we're not enough in the playoffs for a 64-win team. True. So what about the Cavs? Are you excited by? I know you mentioned the other bigs you're going to be playing with. Obviously, Donovan, first team all-MBA this year. But you're kind of coming back to a team that you kind of helped start the rebuild with.

Yeah, no, I've always liked to take a little bit of credit for how the Cavs got here because, you know, like trading me got you Lowry, trading Lowry got you done. So, you know, it's a butterfly effect type of thing. obviously kidding but it's great I've been teammates with half these guys before you know obviously Jared Dean Darius DeAndre coming from Atlanta I'll get to team up with him again

so there are so many guys that I know and have relationships with in this locker room so I think it's again as well as just being you know the fit on the court I think off the court will jell pretty well as well this group obviously Larry has

designs on breaking through in the playoffs, right, like you guys did in 2018 after you got traded their midseason to Cleveland. From the outside looking in, you know, what do you think has been the thing that's been missing the last year or two? And Calf has gotten the second round and falling short. What do you think between you and just internal growth and stuff you think can change to help get you guys where you want to go, which is all the way back to playing in June again? Well, it's tough. You know, it's hard to look at the roster and go, hey, this This is it. You know, because very rarely do you get a team in the NBA that just ascends straight to a championship.

You know, we saw OKC take their lumps. We saw Denver take their lumps. We saw Milwaukee take their lumps. All the teams that have reached the upper echelon didn't get there, you know, didn't get there on one try. So sure, the calves, they got to the second round, got to the second round again. So, you know, I think it feels like this team has paid their dues. It feels like they've taken their lumps. and you know, there's a few fortunate breaks.

I would say you need a few fortunate breaks. You got to stay healthy. But other than that, outside of that, you know, I do think I can help with the playoff versatility. I do think I can help with spacing the court a little bit when, you know, when needed. And, you know, it's an east that's looking awfully appetizing this year. So I'm really, really excited to, really just excited to see where I fit in

and play the role they knew me to do. What do you think of what your former team the Hawks had done this summer? It has been a very interesting summer in Atlanta. No, it has. They're going to be good. Obviously, I'm really excited for, got tons of friends there,

obviously really excited to get Jalen Johnson back on the court. You know, he's just as exciting as it possibly gets. I've heard Zach Rishachet has grown a little bit, and he's so much fun. Like literally height-wise, like gotten taller? I've heard he's put on some muscle this summer. That's what I've heard. Yeah, I just, yeah, grow.

He wore a size 18 shoe when I got there, and that's, that tends, that leads me to believe that he may have grown a little bit, but that's here or there. Zach, again, just putting on some weight. He's just everything that you want, you know, in a, in somebody in your locker room. so I'm really rude for him. So many guys over there. So, you know, I hope they have a good year.

Just not as good as us. Right. Yeah. And getting Porzengis, obviously, they retrofitted their big man spot. So, but that was obviously a big going for it. So when you, you know, as you approach the season, like, you know, the calves are going to be in a situation where regular season is only going to matter so much. because they had, they succeeded everything in the regular season last year. You've been around, you've seen a lot of things.

You know, have you been able to talk to much of your new teammates? Have you been able to get a feel for that mentality at all? A little bit. A little bit. Sorry, we've got. Like my dad, suburban dad. He is a Leads fan. That's the biggest Leads fan in Summit County right there.

You know, obviously there's the, you know, we're all in same group chat and whatnot, but it's, it's more so just, you know, individual conversations about like, again, about the fit and about, you know, introducing me to like, hey, how can he likes to coach and, and, you know, various ways that, you know, various holes that the team has been, that the team has had that, you know, that I can, that I can help Phil. Again, this is a team that maybe I think I'm the only above 30 year old, which feels bad to say. Is that right? Wow. That hurts. It hurts me to my core. But yeah, I think I'm the only guy of up 30 at this point. And so, you know, with that comes, you know, some investment in guys like Tyrese Proctor, Craig Porter, Nequan Tomlin, Jalen Tyson, some of the younger guys, you know, just being, you know, being the old vet, just kind of showing them how to maintain professionalism and

last in the league for a decade. You know, it's not easy. So that's what I'm going to be doing a lot of them. Well, that's interesting because that was the role that Alex Caruso had on the Thunder last year. He was the guy who came in and looked around and all of a sudden was like two or three years older than everybody else. I think he was definitely the only 30-year-old. No, Kenrich Williams also turned 30, but it was those two guys and then it was like a gap to everybody else. well anybody at this point anybody if you were born like 1990 i would say 95 and below do you officially get the name of unc you're definitely that's i'm not larry i'm not nance

nothing it's not it's unc i'm home that's what i've been for the last few years and it just it doesn't feel great yeah when you're the oldest player on the roster can you go by the nickname ac fresh like Caruso does. He's transitioned into bald mamba, I think because it's a better nickname that AC Fras. I hadn't heard that one. I didn't know that was the thing.

I thought it was the Carus show. Yeah, that's what I thought. No, the bald Mamba. I love when Kaysen Wallace at one point, I think it was pretty early in the season. And said, yeah, I never had a bald teammate before. That's amazing. Great.

More Hoop Collective podcast after this. Well, the reason I bring up Caruso is that you have, this is, I think this is really cool. So, as you are one of the proprietors of Leeds United, you have a new podcast with Men and Blazers, which is basically the signature proper football, American soccer podcast, Roger Bennett is one of the voices of it And you've got a podcast with Roger Bennett And is it launching later this week, Larry? I do. It is.

It's launching later this week tomorrow, I believe. Okay. So by the time you hear this, it's coming out and came out on Tuesday. I should say the 2019. And what's the name of it? So people know what to look for. The name of it is switch to play. And what we'll be doing is kind of like you said,

I'm just head over heels crazy for football, soccer, if that's what you want to call it. But I've been that way over the last, you know, 10 or so years in the NBA. And just like we talked about, the game has gone through so many transitions, you know, some of the European influence that has really started to infiltrate locker rooms in the NBA, has, like, made soccer a massive talking point. And there are so many guys that have picked their clubs and pick their favorite players, that, you know, we're constantly having conversations about, laugh and joking, you know, making little like, you know, making little, you know, side jokes and bets on.

But, you know, and I'm really excited to explore that. So that's kind of what this podcast is about, kind of exploring the parallel between the two games and how various, you know, NBA players got found a level of a different sport. There's a number of NBA players who have interests in European clubs, right? I think Kevin Durant recently took a position in PSG in Paris. I'm trying to think off top of my head, but I'm somebody who, I'm an anglophile. And I've gotten into proper football over the last decade. Tottenham is, or I should say Spurs are my team.

And they are one of the famously underachieving teams. It's very. Whoa, congratulations. Yeah. They won the Europa League last year as their first trophy. They won in 17 years. but anyway their best player

Tori's well arguably their best player Tori's knee tendon in the preseason and one of their most story players just got sold off so you know we're dealing with change but Caruso is your first guest on the show that's coming up like

I didn't know is he into soccer I didn't know that he is he is that's one thing that that really bonded us early on in our careers you know with that young lakers team you know me him lu old dang um we're just we're just fanatical over it and so um his love of manchester city has been something that i've you know landed some playful jabs to him about for up for up and and um what uh it's funny just become a man city fan like recently because if he did i mean here's a thing no hints you'll find out on the pot okay all right

it's like it's kind of like it's kind of like starting to be an NBA fan fan like, you know, in your 20s and then, you know, rooting for the Lakers is what that's kind of like. That's, I mean, that's how I feel, but you know, hey. Now, before you were a Leeds guy, were you, were you Chelsea? I can't remember. Is that who you're a fan? I did. Before I got ownership in Leeds, I was a, I was a bit of a Chelsea supporter. I got introduced to, I got introduced to European football by watching Samuel Eiffo, my favorite player ever, Eden Hazard, you know, that, that specific team on FIFA was. is kind of how I got introduced into it.

And so, yeah, I started with Chelsea, but there's nothing, there is nothing Chelsea Blue in my house or in my life. Right. It is, we are, we are leads all the way. So how did, how did the ownership possibility come up? I was going to say, I was going to ask the same question. What was the process that got you actually to be part of the minority owner of the team, which is owned by people that don't know,

the group that owns the 49ers, I believe, are the majority owners. with leads yes um so that actually that actually came about you know i've been pretty outspoken about my passion for the sport and and wanting to get involved more and you know so over the years i've had a few opportunities to get involved in some different different teams and different in different programs and what they're trying to do over there and um none of them necessarily necessarily felt right um but this opportunity leads came up and actually t j mccall was kind of the was kind of the uh the conduit for that so shout out t j jay who, spoiler alert, he'll also be on the pod.

I'm going to tune into that one. Yeah, he's the best. But, you know, me and my wife took a visit to Leeds, and it just felt very industrious and blue collar. The people were friendly, and it just felt like, man, this kind of feels like Midwest, you know, Midwest Cleveland, Ohio. And it just felt a little bit more like home and felt like something that I can really get behind. And plus the people that were in, you know, in charge of it.

The project aren't did a really good job turning around the 49ers, and they're great people. So it was a good group to get involved with. Now McConnell could have been a soccer player. They had to let him keep playing. He moves like a soccer player. I would say he chose right to. Yes, I've seen his contract. He's done just fine.

He's not just fine. McConnell is quick in the same way that Nash is, and that they move like soccer players. They change directions without slowing down. it's such a hard skill and those guys over there like again TJ's as we speak TJ's

TJ's grabbing pints over there right now he's he was at Illinois and he was at the game oh wow that's awesome too many pints he might not be that quick anymore I'm in the same division now so have all the pints you want I actually might have been going some money

to buy him some more well that's that's really cool that that worked out so yeah I know there's a number of NBA players who are into it so that's awesome. And I mean, I'm looking for, you know, you know, Raj, the way Raj handles men and Blazers, it's really, you know, into the American audience. He's an edge, he tries to educate you. He really tries to have a lot of fun with it. I actually think that like, while, you know, soccer coverage and the way the game is, you know, digested in England is a little bit raw,

it's not necessarily something that we'd want to emulate, obviously. But the way Roger celebrates the game is something that we could learn from, actually, I think, with the NBA, because I do think there's a lot of the NBA that could be celebrated. And the other thing about soccer, Larry, is that there's the English fan, well, all soccer fans, but there's so much celebration and understanding by the fans and the nuance of the game. Because there's not that much scoring,

you have to celebrate and pay attention to the nuance of the game. And I think that that's something that, as I've watched more and more soccer and learned about it, as actually helps me with the way I watch basketball. You know, when you go, you always appreciate a crowd. This happens in New York, but all other places too, when the fans appreciate a nuanced play. I feel like you're a guy who there's a lot of nuance in your game, which I think maybe translates to it.

But I think we could all benefit by having a little bit more enjoy in the way that we consume basketball. That's just my crusade. I don't know if anybody is listening to me. I could not agree anymore. You know, like you said, it's all about, it's, you know, the effort put in. You know, it's the effort play.

It's about the, hey, you know, this guy just, this guy just helped, just put his body on the line and sacrificed himself so that we could retain the ball or retain possession. And so I do agree that a bit of NBA culture is our first, our first thought is to detract for whatever reason. And that is something that I think their European football has got it down. Their fan culture is tribal about their teams and their players.

And hey, you're one of us, you're one of us. And we got your back. And I think that's one of the things that's just so special about it, why I fell in love with it. Yeah, I've struggled to, there's a couple of people in my life who, they're very frustrated by the idea that the clock doesn't stop. And that, you know, when the game, like I saw it today, I didn't see, I saw there was seven minutes of stoppage time in this game today. You must have been living and dying with those seven minutes.

And that's part of the game. And by the way, sometimes it's seven, sometimes it's seven and a half. Sometimes the referee, sometimes the team is on like a run and the referee will just let them have one last chance. And that like drives the American fan who's used to, you know, football where they do everything each second is valued and, you know, your timeouts and getting out of bounds and spiking the ball. It doesn't compute, but it's the nuance of the game. Yeah, that's the nature of it. It is inexact. You know, it's crazy.

When I first started going to Premier League games, I've been to like a handful of games. On TV, when you watch the game, they tell you there's so much stoppage time and they run the clock. And you can see when you're at a Premier League game, they don't put stoppage time on the clock. I have no idea. You stay up. There's seven more minutes and you're like, how many minutes has it been? Has it been six? Has it been eight?

Has it been five? Like, you can feel attention in the crowd. It drives some people crazy, but I think it's part of what makes the game great. Can you imagine if an overtime was just like, yeah, it's something like five minutes, but we're not going to put it on the clock.

We'll just let the referee blow his whistle. Yeah, like, hey, like the ball went out of bounds. There was a timeout that went a little bit longer, you know, so we had to clean a mess on the floor. So like, there's five minutes in overtime, but like,

play an extra four-ish. If you guys are attacking, you can keep going, but if not, we'll end it there. Right. If you've got the ball, you get one more shot. Who cares how much is on the clock?

Who cares how much of shot clock is? Do you just get one more shot? Play to the whistle, man. Play to the whistle, baby. It's the best sport in the world. It really is. All right. Well, we look forward to your season with the Cavs.

We'd be talking about the Cavs a little bit here on the Hooked Collective. We look forward to your podcast. If you've got nothing to listen to an NBA fan, give it a try. And I predict if you listen to Men and Blazer stuff, you're going to like it. So it really made me excited that you were doing this because I think I'm not just saying it to sell it. I don't really doesn't, I don't have any skin. the game. This is a good fit. You and Men and Blazers. I was really excited when I heard about it. So good luck with that. Thank you. Thank you. Me too. No, that network is just so massive.

And Raj does such a good job of just making everything feel light and fun and jovial. And that's what this is about. It's there's light and fun. You're going to hear a lot of laughs, a lot of stories told that you can only get only get here. You'll hear in the locker room and on the podcast. So I'm really excited about it. and I just appreciate you guys having me on. Of course, man. And Bond-Tempson McMahon, just keep in mind when you're talking about the Cavs this year about our friend of the podcast here.

Keep that in mind. I'll be watching. I get some crap from these guys about my interest in talking about the Cavs, Larry. No, we give Brian a hard time for his fandom of the Caps. It's a big difference of that. The only thing we give you a hard time about is that Caves Dancer uniform is a rough fit for it. All right. Thank you to Jackson, our producer. Thank you to McMahon and Bontemps. Thank you to Larry Nance Jr. for joining us. And good luck to Leads in the Premier League season.

Am I given an Adios amigos, amigos? Yes, of course you are. Okay, Adios amigos. I wasn't sure how we're patching this together.