Larry Nance Jr. discusses confidence in LeBron James during 2018 playoff series vs Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA playoffs is still occasionally discussed in Indianapolis to this day.

While the Pacers lost the set in seven games, many moments still live in the minds of fans. Indiana actually outscored Cleveland in the series by 40 total points, and fans still wonder if the Pacers could have won Game 7 of that best-of-seven had star guard Victor Oladipo played more minutes during the final battle. The Pacers lost by four with Oladipo playing 41.5 minutes — Cavs star LeBron James played 43.5.

In the end, James and the Cavaliers prevailed. LeBron was sensational, averaging 34.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game in the series while knocking down several clutch shots. Indiana gave the King all he could handle, but Cleveland moved on, and they eventually reached the NBA Finals.

Larry Nance Jr, who is now with the Atlanta Hawks, was a reserve big man for that Cavaliers team. He played in all seven games during the series while making two-thirds of his shot attempts. He was a useful piece on the Finals-bound team.

Recently, Nance Jr appeared on ESPN‘s podcast The Hoop Collective, hosted by Brian Windhorst. The 2018 playoff run from the Cavaliers was discussed, and one the frequent hosts, ESPN writer Tim Bontemps, noted that the Pacers vs Cavs series was on a knife’s edge.

It was, but the Cavs pulled it out. They then crushed the Toronto Raptors and snuck past the Boston Celtics to reach the NBA Finals. While Cleveland’s best-of-seven sets against the Pacers and Celtics went the distance, Nance never felt worried along the way.

“Indiana took us to seven. Toronto, we played them [in the] second round, they were the number one seed in the East. And Boston was a monster, they took us to seven,” Nance began. “In Game 7 in crunch time, we were all sitting there like ‘there was just no World where we lost’. We were all so cool because we’re got that guy (LeBron).”

In Game 5 of the series, James blocked a layup from Oladipo with just a few seconds left in the fourth quarter before hitting a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer. In Game 7, he scored five points in the final two minutes to clinch the series. The superstar forward was terrific.

James, Nance and the rest of the Cavaliers were swept in the NBA Finals by the Golden State Warriors. The entire podcast episode can be found here.