Kevin Love was born to play basketball. Love’s father is Stan Love, who was the ninth overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft. From a young age Kevin was learning the game of basketball, whether it was from his father or the numerous instructional videos in his possession. He also inherited great size from his father, as he currently stands at 6’10”. Now, Love is often regarded as the best power forward in the league, as he possesses one of the most diverse offensive games in the NBA and is a top notch rebounder. Even at the relatively young age of 25, Love is proving to be a once in a decade talent. Blessed with perfect size and an NBA bloodline, Love was destined to be a basketball player.
High School
Love played his high school ball for the Lake Oswego, which is a town located near the northern border of Oregon. Love started on Varsity as a sophomore, in which he immediately began his domination. In his sophomore season Love averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. He led his team the state championship, where they lost to the powerhouse of Jesuit High School. In his junior campaign Love improved in nearly every aspect of the game and he once again led his team to the state championship game. This time they came away the victors as Love led the Lakers past Kyle Singler and South Medford. In Love’s senior year he put up video game like numbers, averaging 34 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. He led Lake Oswego to the state championship once again, but this time they fell short to Singler and Medford. Love finished his career as Oregon’s all-time leading scorer at the high school level with 2,628 points. He held career averages of 29 points, 16 rebounds, and three assists per game.
College Career
At the end of his senior year in high school Kevin Love was regarded as one of the top prospects in the country and many people expected him to sign with his homeschool team and his father’s alma mater, the University of Oregon. Instead Love signed with Oregon’s Pac-10 rival, the UCLA Bruins. Kevin Love and his family received many threatening and obscene messages from University of Oregon fan’s for his decision to leave his home state. Love joined an already very talented UCLA team that had current NBA players; Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison, and Luc Mbah a Moute on the roster. Love and the Bruins had a great amount of success as they finished the season with a record of 35 wins and four losses. The Bruins lost to the Derrick Rose led Memphis Tigers in the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Love was picked as a consensus first team All-American and was awarded the Pac-10 Player of the Year. He finished his college career with averages of 17 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and one block per game.
NBA Career
In April of 2008, Love announced he would forgo his remaining years of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft. The 2008 Draft Class was regarded as one of the better classes of the decade and had many talented players such as; Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, and Brook Lopez. Kevin Love was selected with the fifth overall pick - one pick after his UCLA teammate Russell Westbrook – by the Memphis Grizzlies. Love was then immediately traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a multiple player deal that included third overall pick OJ Mayo.
The Minnesota Timberwolves struggled at the start of the season of Love’s rookie year, starting the year 4-19. After a coaching change and an injury to starting center Al Jefferson, Kevin Love’s minutes and production increased. Love finished his rookie season with 37 starts and averages of 11 points, nine rebounds, and one assist per game. He was also named to the All-Rookie Second Team and finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting. It wasn’t until his third year that Kevin Love got an opportunity as a full time starter. When the Timberwolves traded Al Jefferson in the offseason it solidified Love as the starter. In his third year Kevin Love averaged 20 points, 15 rebounds and a three point shooting percentage of 43 percent. He was also selected to the NBA All-Star Game as a reserve, the first of his career. Love also won the NBA most Improved Player Award and he led the league in rebounding.
In his fourth year in the league Kevin Love averaged 26 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists per game. He was also named to his second consecutive All-Star game. The Timberwolves front office responded to this production with a four year, $62 million contract. However, it was not an easy agreement, and tensions increased between Love and the Timberwolves front office. Love’s fifth season in the NBA was marred by injury and off the court troubles. On October 17, Love suffered a broken hand and was expected to be out for six to eight weeks. Love returned, only to re-fracture the hand on January 3rd. He managed to play in only 18 games that season. Love also continued to voice his frustrations with the Timberwolves front office for not doing enough to improve the team. Now in his sixth year in the NBA, Love has managed to stay healthy and productive as he currently averages 26 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Other Facts and Accomplishments
- Love was a member of the US Men’s Basketball Olympic Team which finished undefeated and won the gold medal.
- Love frequently received tutorage from UCLA stars Bill Walton and John Wooden
- Love received permission from UCLA great Walt Hazzard to wear the number 42 which was retired by the school in Hazzard’s honor.
- Love’s father, Stan Love, played in the NBA for four year and was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft. After retiring, Stan served as a body guard to his older brother Mike Love, the founding member of The Beastie Boys.
- Kevin Love’s uncle is Mike Love, and his second cousins are Brian Wilson, the late Carl Wilson, and Dennis Wilson, who were all members of the band The Beastie Boys.
- Love’s middle name is Wesley, in honor of NBA great Wes Unseld, who is a family friend to the Love’s.
- Love has a 6 year endorsement with the Chinese shoe company 361 Degrees.