Meet the No-Nonsense Dunk Artist : Nance Doesn’t Give Names for His Slams, but He Makes Statement

Every so often last season, Tom Ambrose, public relations director of the Phoenix Suns, would publish an unusual list.

The Larry Nance Nickname List.

The index was a direct result of Nance’s championship in an NBA slam dunk contest last year, in which he defeated some of the more prominent nicknames in basketball -- among them Dominique “The Human Highlight Film” Wilkins of Atlanta, Orlando “Oh! Oh!” Woolridge of Chicago and Darrell “Dr. Dunkenstein” Griffith of Utah, as well as fan favorite -- Julius “Dr. J” Erving of Philadelphia. Nance defends his title at Indianapolis Feb. 9.

The final edition of the list had 127 nicknames, with categories ranging from “Titles” to “Flying Themes” to “Common Household Object Themes.”

Some of the nicknames were impressive: “Sir Slamalot,” “Slambassador,” “Duke of Dunk,” “Dr. of Rimology.”

Others had marquee value: “Flash Nance,” “The Wizard of Ahs,” “The Right Stuff.”

Then there were those of undetermined origin: “Backboard Blaster Master of Disaster,” “Whamming Jamming No Respect Slamming Nance,” “May You Slam Every Hour and Never Turn Sour.”

The 6-foot-11 forward looked the list over, but refused to adopt one.

“I thought it was great fun to read all the names,” Nance said. “Some of the things that people were calling me were great things. I saw some nice names, but decided that I just didn’t want to pick one.

“I think it worked out better that I didn’t take one because everybody wanted me to have one. Therefore, a lot of people were getting more into knowing me by sending names in. I got more (publicity) by not having one, so I don’t see a reason to have one now.”

Maybe too much publicity, he adds.

“A lot of people, now all they want me to do is dunk,” he said. “I go places and they think that’s all I have in my game. I’d like to be known as more than just a dunker.”

Nance has shown consistent improvement in his game since he was a first-round draft pick of the Suns in 1981. Entering the week of Feb. 4, he led Phoenix in scoring with an average of 20.1 points per game, while ranking second in rebounds with an average of 8.8.

Nance credits his improved game to “just maturing.”

“I’m knowing how to make good judgments on the floor,” he continued. “It’s just a matter of getting a lot of playing time and making good judgments. It takes a lot off your mind -- all you’ve got to do is play. When you’re comfortable you can play pretty well.”

Phoenix coach John MacLeod extols Nance’s attitude.

“He has a tremendous desire to want to improve and to want to play better,” he said. “When you have that attitude about wanting to improve, improvement is just around the corner.

“He’s a great deal more consistent now than he was. He has made a lot of big plays late in the game and that’s what attracts the eye of coaches. A lot of players can play in the early part of the game, but Larry Nance still can make the big plays late.”

His accomplishments have not gone unnoticed by those around the league. The fourth-year veteran has been named to the West team for the NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis, his first all-star appearance.

In addition, other players in the league are beginning to tell stories about Nance. Boston forward Cedric Maxwell returned from a trip to Phoenix earlier this season amazed at Nance’s leaping ability.

“Every time he went up for one of his slams, I swear I could hear him calling out, ‘Nance to tower, Nance to tower,”’ Maxwell said. “He was getting up so high that M.L. (Carr) told me not to waste energy jumping because I’d still be a couple of feet below him anyway.”

It’s been said that Nance plays basketball on a different level, perhaps two stories higher. The cover photo of last year’s Suns media guide showed Nance going up for one of his slams. The rim was just waist-high.

But Nance said he’s not the only one who can do that.

“I’ve seen quite a few players in the league that can really jump, but people don’t see them because maybe they didn’t win the slam-dunk contest,” he said. “Some teams don’t have good passers like Alvan Adams or Kyle Macy. Therefore, the guys that can jump on those teams don’t really get to show what they can do.”

Nance defends his slam dunk title against some stiff competition. Erving and Wilkins will be there, as well as rookie Michael Jordan of Chicago. Despite the uneasiness that he had with the title last year, Nance says he wants to keep it.

“It’ll be hard to defend it,” he said. “I have had some regrets about going, but once the crowd gets behind me and I see those guys dunking, I’m going to give it my best shot.”

Nance will stick with the routine that won for him last year, including a slam involving two basketballs. In that one, he approaches the basket down the baseline, dunks one ball on the way up, soars to the other side of the rim, and jams the other one through before touching down.

“It won for me,” he said, “so maybe it’ll win again.”