Larry Nance Jr. happy to give up his seat for Kobe Bryant

Forward Larry Nance Jr. has been a bright spot on the court for the Lakers this season, but he’s still just a rookie.

On Tuesday night, as the Lakers hosted the Dallas Mavericks, Nance was booted from his seat on the Lakers bench to make way for Kobe Bryant, who was out with a shoulder injury.

“I heard a huge cheer, Kobe coming onto the court. I was just minding my own business, watching the game,” he said after the Lakers’ 92-90 loss. “All of a sudden I hear, ‘Nance, Nance get up.’”

It was Bryant -- a video clip of the moment hit the Internet quickly.

“I’ve already seen the video everywhere -- so thank you for that guys,” said Nance. “I kind of looked at the coaches, ‘I’m going in?’”

“[Bryant] was like, ‘No, I need my seat,’” he continued.

“At that point, it’s not like, ‘Oh no, I’m a man. You can’t have my [seat],” said Nance. “It’s out of respect. You’ve earned that ... if there’s anybody who deserves and earns to be able to do that, it’s him.”

Nance played 23 minutes on Tuesday, in his first action after sitting out four games with a sore knee. While he went scoreless, Nance collected seven rebounds.

Coach Byron Scott brought in Nance off the bench, but suggested before the game that he would eventually supplant Julius Randle in the starting lineup.

Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.