Los Angeles Lakers (2015–2018) 2015–16 season On June 25, 2015, Nance was selected with the 27th overall pick in the
2015 NBA draft by the
Los Angeles Lakers. Shortly after the draft selection was announced, an old tweet from 2012 by Nance resurfaced, in which he referenced then-teammate
Kobe Bryant's infamous
2003 rape incident. Nance deleted the tweet shortly after, and Bryant spoke on the tweet, calling the controversy surrounding it "water under the bridge". On July 10, Nance signed his rookie scale contract with the Lakers. He made his NBA debut on November 6 against the
Brooklyn Nets, recording six points and five rebounds in a 104–98 win. On December 7, he made his first start for the Lakers after replacing
Julius Randle at the starting power forward spot against the
Toronto Raptors. On December 27, he recorded his first career double-double with a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds in a 112–96 loss to the
Memphis Grizzlies. On January 1, 2016, Nance logged a season-high 14 rebounds, along with eight points, in a 93–84 win over the
Philadelphia 76ers. He matched this total during his next game, which was two days later on January 3, along with fifteen points and a steal in a 97–77 loss to the
Phoenix Suns. On January 14, Nance grabbed a season-high six steals in a 116–98 loss to the
Golden State Warriors.
2016–17 season On October 26, 2016, Nance made his season debut for the Lakers, recording five points, five rebounds and two assists in a 120–114 win over the Houston Rockets. On November 1, he recorded a season-high six steals in a 108–115 loss to the
Indiana Pacers. On November 20, he scored a career-high 18 points in a 118–110 loss to the
Chicago Bulls. On December 25, Nance was ruled out for four weeks after suffering an injury to his left knee. He returned to action on January 22, 2017, where he logged four points and a rebound in a 73–122 blowout loss to the
Dallas Mavericks. Nance matched his career-high of 18 points on February 3, where he also grabbed 11 rebounds and four assists in a 107–113 loss to the
Boston Celtics. On April 2, he recorded a season-high 14 rebounds, along with 12 points and three steals, in a 108–103 win over the
Memphis Grizzlies. On April 9, Nance logged a season-high six assists, along with ten points and ten rebounds, in a 110–109 win over the
Minnesota Timberwolves.
2017–18 season On October 19, 2017, Nance made his season debut for the Lakers, where he recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds in a 92–108 loss to the
Los Angeles Clippers. On November 3, he was ruled out for four to six weeks after fracturing the second metacarpal on his left hand the previous night against the
Portland Trail Blazers. He missed 11 games as a result. Nance returned to action on November 27, where he logged nine points, eight rebounds and four steals in a 115–120 loss to the Clippers. On November 29, he also dished out a season-high five assists in a 123–127 loss to the
Golden State Warriors. On February 6, 2018, two days before he was traded, Nance played his last game as a Laker, where he recorded six points, ten rebounds and a steal in a 112–93 win over the
Phoenix Suns.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2018–2021) On February 8, 2018, Nance was traded, along with
Jordan Clarkson, to his hometown team the
Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for
Isaiah Thomas,
Channing Frye and a 2018 first-round draft pick. After playing his first two games as a Cavalier with No. 24, he switched to No. 22 permanently on February 22 after the NBA allowed him to wear his father's retired No. 22 jersey. On March 5, 2018, he posted career highs with 22 points and 15 rebounds in his first start for Cleveland, as the Cavaliers defeated the
Detroit Pistons 112–90. On March 13, 2018, in a 129–107 win over the
Phoenix Suns, Nance had only four points, ending his career-best string of seven consecutive double-digit scoring games. Nance helped the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals in
2018, where they lost 4–0 to the
Golden State Warriors. On October 15, 2018, Nance signed a four-year, $44.8 million contract extension with the Cavaliers. On December 18, 2018, he had 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, six assists and the first game-winning shot of his pro career to give the Cavaliers a 92–91 win over the
Indiana Pacers. On January 8, 2019, against the Pacers, he suffered a right knee
MCL sprain. He subsequently missed eight games. On February 8, he recorded a career-high 19 rebounds in a 119–106 loss to the
Washington Wizards. On February 12, 2020, Nance scored a career-high 23 points, alongside twelve rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks, in a 127–105 win over the
Atlanta Hawks. On February 26, he grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds, alongside 13 points and three assists, in a 108–94 win over the
Philadelphia 76ers. On March 4, Nance grabbed 15 rebounds, alongside 19 points, four assists and four steals, in a 112–106 loss to the
Boston Celtics. During the 2019–20 season, Nance averaged a career-high 10.1 points per game. On January 7, 2021, Nance scored a season-high 18 points, alongside three rebounds, four assists and three steals, in a 94–90 win over the
Memphis Grizzlies. On January 31, he grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds, alongside two points and four assists, in a 109–104 loss to the
Minnesota Timberwolves. On March 17, Nance scored 18 points, alongside ten rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 117–110 win over the
Boston Celtics.
Portland Trail Blazers (2021–2022) On August 28, 2021, Nance was acquired by the
Portland Trail Blazers in a three-team sign-and-trade involving the
Chicago Bulls. He made his Trail Blazers debut on October 20, recording two points, three rebounds and two assists in a 124–121 loss to the
Sacramento Kings.
New Orleans Pelicans (2022–2024) On February 8, 2022, Portland traded Nance,
CJ McCollum, and
Tony Snell to the
New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for
Josh Hart,
Nickeil Alexander-Walker,
Tomáš Satoranský,
Didi Louzada, a protected 2022 first-round draft pick, the better of New Orleans' and Portland's 2026 second-round draft picks and New Orleans' 2027 second-round draft pick. Three days later, Nance underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery. On October 1, 2022, Nance signed a two-year, $21.6 million contract extension with the Pelicans.
Atlanta Hawks (2024–2025) On July 6, 2024, Nance,
E. J. Liddell,
Dyson Daniels,
Cody Zeller (via sign-and-trade), a 2025 first-round pick (via Lakers), and a conditional 2027 first-round pick were traded to the
Atlanta Hawks in exchange for
Dejounte Murray. In 24 appearances (3 starts) for Atlanta during the
2024–25 NBA season, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. On March 26, 2025, Nance was ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a lingering right
medial femoral condyle fracture.
Return to Cleveland (2025–present) On July 6, 2025, Nance signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. ==Career statistics==