Kevin Love is an American five-time All-Star basketball player who currently plays in the National Basketball Association for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Having previously played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Love, who is well known for his three-point shooting and tough rebounding ability, is the record holder of the longest streak of consecutive games with double figures in points and rebounds.
Love was part of the Cleveland Cavalier team that won an NBA Championship in 2016. He has also won gold medals with the USA men’s national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championships and the 2012 Summer Olympics. Read on to find out more about his early beginnings and personal life.
Early Life and Career
Kevin Love was born Kevin Wesley Love to Karen and Stan Love on September 7, 1988, in Santa Monica, California. He, however, grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon where he began playing basketball as a child, thanks to his father being a professional basketball player.
Love attended Lake Oswego High School and played for its basketball team which was known as the Lakers. By his sophomore year, Love became an instrumental player for his side as he averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds per game to guide his team to the 2005 state championship game which they lost. The following year, he averaged 28 points and 16 rebounds per game to again take his team to the state championship game which they won this time around.
For the third consecutive year, in Love’s senior year, Lake Oswego Lakers made it to the state championship game behind their star player’s 33 points and 17 rebounds per game averages. Love, however, lost the game despite scoring 37 points but was consoled by being named the Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year at the end of the season. He went on to finish his high school career as the all-time leading scorer in Oregon boys’ basketball history before heading off to California to play college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Kevin Love’s decision to pass on the University of Oregon, his father’s alma mater, was met with great animosity as he received obscene messages and death threats on his cell phone. He was, however, unwavered as he guided UCLA to the regular season Pac-10 conference championship where they became the number 1 seed in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament.
UCLA Bruins reached the final four of the tournament before losing to the Memphis Tigers. Love was however named consensus first-team All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year, All-Pac-10, and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year thanks to his average of 17.5 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
Following a successful freshman year, Love made himself eligible for the NBA draft, forgoing his college career. He was selected with the fifth overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2008 NBA Draft but was subsequently traded on draft night to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an eight-player deal that also had O. J. Mayo, the drafts third overall selection, going the other way.
Kevin Love had a slow start to life in the NBA as his team suffered a losing run. Things, however, picked up after the head coach was changed halfway through the season, with Love particularly playing better and almost averaging a double-double. He went on to finish the season as the ninth-best rebounder in the league with a total of 29 double-doubles, a Timberwolves franchise record by a rookie.
The following campaign, Love beat the likes of Dwight Howard and Marcus Camby to be the NBA’s best rebounder as his game rose to new heights and was placed in contention for an all-star appearance. In 2011, Love made his first All-Star appearance as he also became the face of the Timberwolves franchise. He was, however, frustrated with his team’s constant exclusion from the playoffs.
In 2014, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, following LeBron James‘ return. That year, he made the playoffs for the first time in his career but was unfortunate to have suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of Game 4 in the first round against the Boston Celtics. The Cavs went on to reach the finals but lost out to the Golden State Warriors.
Kevin Love has since made three trips to the NBA Finals, winning just one. He is currently on his fourth attempt to win his second NBA Championship with Cleveland.
Who is his Dad?
Kevin Love’s father, Stan, is a former basketball player who had a four-year-long professional career, playing for the Baltimore Bullets, now Washington Wizards, after being selected with the 9th pick in the 1971 NBA Draft. The other teams he played for are the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs.
After quitting his NBA career, Stan Love became a full-time bodyguard, trainer, and assistant to his cousin, Brian Wilson, the founder of the American rock band, The Beach Boys.
Love has two siblings; an older brother named Colin and a younger sister named Emily.
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Does Kevin Love Have A Wife or Girlfriend?
Kevin Love has never been married. He has in the past been in a couple of serious relationships, most notably with Elise Novak, a former UCLA cheerleader. The relationship lasted for six long years before both parties decided to call it quits.
Love is currently in a serious relationship with Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Bock.
