Larry Nance, Jr. wasted no time in the offseason getting back into the Los Angeles Lakers' training facility, tweeting a picture from gym on Wednesday night. The forward was right back at it again on Thursday morning, with the team's social media account posting a photo on Instagram of Nance, Jr. and his fellow "Breakfast Club" member, Anthony Brown, working on strength training for the upcoming season:
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(Image credit: Lakers' official Instagram)
It's good to see Nance, Jr. working so hard to improve over his vacation time, and that goes double for Brown. The second round pick struggled mightily on the offensive end during his first season in the NBA, shooting just 31 percent overall and 28.6 percent from behind the arc after shooting 42.8 and 40.3 percent, respectively, from those areas during his time in college.
Brown was, however, able to live up to the "D" part of the three-and-D prospect he was painted as when the Lakers picked him with the 34th overall selection in the NBA Draft. Los Angeles was 7.3 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Brown on the floor than when he was on the bench over the 2015-16 season, and while much of that had to do with replacing Kobe Bryant when he came in, Brown showed a ton of potential on that end.
While weight training wouldn't seem to directly address the concerns over his ghastly shooting during his rookie campaign, Brown is showing the right type of initiative by returning to the gym early in the offseason to get better. If he can become a passable offensive player this offseason, that growth combined with his already NBA ready defense could make him a solid wing contributor for the Lakers for years to come.
All stats per NBA.com. You can follow this author on Twitter at @hmfaigen.