INDEPENDENCE — Pete Nance maneuvered around the perimeter and fired jump shots with his father's name and jersey number hanging nearby at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Nance had just completed his first official practice with the Cavaliers summer league team — an opportunity he called "a dream come true."
Nance explained attempting to make an NBA roster can be stressful, but the Revere High School graduate is reminding himself he has a truly special opportunity with the Cavs . His dad, Larry Nance Sr. , became a franchise legend in the late 1980s and early '90s. His older brother, Larry Nance Jr. , played for the organization from 2018-21 and is now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans .
"I try to zoom out and look at how proud or how excited my 10-year-old self would be at what I'm doing right now," Pete Nance said Saturday. "It's just a really cool thing for me and super surreal, and I'm just happy to be here.
"Watching games and watching LeBron [James] and all those guys, that was my dream to be able to play for the Cavs. And growing up 30 minutes away, my dad played here, my brother played here, so it's a very cool thing for me, and I just couldn't be more excited about it."
Nance, 23, revealed he had his final pre-draft workout with the Cavs and believes a strong performance led the team to sign him to an Exhibit 10 contract after he went undrafted. He'll receive a one-year contract on a minimum salary and be with the Cavs in summer league and training camp. They have summer league games set for July 7, 9 10 and 13 in Las Vegas.
What does Nance hope to prove?
"I'm my own player," he said. "I think a lot of times, especially playing for who I'm playing for, I'm going to get compared to people, compared to my family members, but I'm really, totally my own player, and I have my own game that's totally separate from theirs."
With making a name for himself the mission, Nance said he considers himself "a high-IQ, floor-spacing, mobile big man" who can protect the rim and guard multiple positions. Nance added he takes pride in executing whatever a coach orders in the name of winning.
Revere boys basketball coach Dean Rahas can attest.
"He makes good decisions both on and off the court," Rahas, who guided both Nance brothers in high school, said last week by phone. "He makes guys around him better. He's very unselfish — almost to a fault. You don't see a lot of that in today's basketball. It's a lot of one on one, me, me, me. I think that's maybe why he didn't get drafted.
"When he played for us, he wasn't some 30-point scorer, but he'd get maybe 18-20 [points] a game, 12 rebounds, six blocks, eight assists. He had games where he didn't score a lot, but he'd still affect the game. I think sometimes that gets overlooked. Everyone's looking at points, but he didn't have to score a lot of points to affect the game. That's kind of a special thing."
Every college basketball player wants to become an NBA Draft pick , but it didn't happen for Nance, a 6-foot-11 power forward who averaged 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in four seasons at Northwestern University and 10 points and six rebounds this past season at the University of North Carolina.
"I love it 'cause it's my journey," Nance said when asked how he has processed going undrafted. "It's going to be my thing, and it's unique to me.
"The biggest thing about me is I'm not comparing myself to anybody else, and there are plenty of guys in the league, as you can see, getting plenty of opportunities and making names for themselves going undrafted. So I'm excited about it. It's going to be a different path for me, but I'm excited to attack it — attack it with everything."
If all goes well for Nance, his deal with the Cavs could be converted into a two-way contract before the upcoming season. He would then have a chance to bounce between the Cavs and their G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge.
The Nance family is thrilled about the possibilities. Nance grew up in Bath Township and said his mother, Jaynee, wants him home. He's staying with his big brother in Northeast Ohio and receiving advice about breaking through in the NBA.
More on the Nance family's NBA legacy: Larry Nance Jr., CJ McCollum unite as NBA teammates with Ohio ties: '330 vs. everybody'
"The main thing is just to enjoy it really," Nance said. "You only get to go through this scenario once and just to be able to take full advantage of everything and attack it with everything, but at the same time, don't put any pressure on it and have fun with it. And I feel like I personally am at a big advantage with that. I've got two great, decent people in my corner to give me advice on this experience and this opportunity, so I'm just super grateful for them."
Nance would also be thankful if the Cavs were to deem him worthy of a more permanent job with the organization.
Cavs sign Pete Nance: Revere graduate strikes deal with hometown Cavaliers, strengthening his family's ties to the franchise
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Pete Nance's summer league shot with Cavs 'dream come true'
