Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. said it is important for the NBA to crown a champion this season amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2019-20 NBA campaign has been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 crisis. At the time of postponement, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks (53-12) owned the best record in the league, ahead of LeBron James' Lakers (49-14), the Raptors (46-18) and Kawhi Leonard's Clippers (44-20).
It remains to be seen whether the season will resume, but Nance believes those players vying for a championship ring should have the chance to try to etch their names in the history books.
"We're not in position to win a championship this year, but if I was – if I was Giannis, if I was LeBron, if I was Kawhi – if I was on one of those championship-caliber teams, I'd be pretty upset about it," Nance said on a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "Because it's very rare in this league that a chance like this comes along, and that's taken a valuable year off someone's career."
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Nance and the Cavaliers are not in the playoff picture, thanks to their 19-46 record.
The 27-year-old Nance was traded to the Cavs by the Lakers in 2018 to team up with James in Cleveland. The franchise reached the NBA Finals that season, losing to the Golden State Warriors that season. James left for the Lakers as a free agent weeks later.