Tuesday 8 October 2019 12:58, UK
Cleveland Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr is back in London to watch his beloved Chelsea and has been impressed by the recent play of midfielder Mason Mount.
A trip to London is something Nance tries to do at least once a year, and a journey to Stamford Bridge to watch the Blues is always on his agenda.
"I love it here. I've been over here for some time," he said. "I love my football so this is a place I frequent a lot. At the moment, my favourite player is Mason Mount, he's so creative and offers something a bit different going forward."
Former Laker Nance has also noticed a difference between UK football supporters and sports fans in his homeland.
"It's a very different kind of fan [in the UK]," he said. "In the NBA, the game is very much for entertainment - it's a show and people go for the fireworks, the fan interaction with mascots, things like that.
"Over here in the UK, it's like a ritual for fans. Everyone comes out and supports their team and the fans over here are very die-hard and I love that - that's why I love being over here."
Premier League football will not be distracting Nance from preparing for the start of the NBA season on October 22 and while the Cleveland Cavaliers are unlikely to be contending in the Eastern Conference, the team have some very clear goals.
"We're in a different position this season," said Nance. "We've got some young guys that we want to bring along. We have Collin Sexton, Darius Garland - we've just drafted Kevin Porter Jr, Dylan Windler so we're going to be a young group. I think helping them to improve will be key to what we do this year.
"We still have myself, Tristian (Thompson) and Kevin (Love) so we're going to be competitive and the lofty goal would be to make the playoffs, but we're going to give it a real big push and we're not ruling anything out right now.
"This upcoming season is going to be a big one for me individually - I've got a real chance to make a name for myself in Cleveland amongst the best in the league. I've been working mainly on my three-point shooting, getting more comfortable with that.
"I led us in assists last year so I want to continue to bring the ball up and be a facilitator for our team. Personally, I'm really looking forward to expanding my game and becoming more well known."
While Cleveland ponder the development of their young core, the heavyweight teams with eyes on the NBA title have re-tooled, with several rosters now led by All-Star superstar duos. Nance welcomes the summer player movement that has left the NBA with more legitimate contenders than at any time in the past decade.
"I love it. There was the big-three era but how many big threes can you have? You were getting three stars at three or four teams and that's who would dominate so now it's much more spread out," Nance said.
"It could be anyone from the Clippers to the Sixers to the Lakers - anybody could win it this year. I'm really excited to be a part of it. Milwaukee will be up there again, but I'll stand by Philly making it out of the East."
Larry Nance Jr's Cleveland Cavaliers will feature as part of a record 48-games being broadcast at Primetime in Europe on Sky Sports this season
