Kevin Love
Kevin Love
Kevin Wesley Loveis an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. He is a three-time All-Star and holds the longest streak for consecutive games recording double figures in points and rebounds since the ABA–NBA merger. Love won an NBA championship with the Cavaliers in 2016, and he was a member of the gold medal-winning USA men's national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He is the son of...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth7 September 1988
CitySanta Monica, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I feel like in order for our team to have the upper hand, I have to play extremely well, and I have to bring the rest of the team with me. That's how I feel approaching every game.
I'm kind of a dirty guy, a little Bill Laimbeer-ish. Those are the guys I used to watch growing up. I used to watch Karl Malone; now I watch Boozer and Elton Brand and try to emulate those guys as much as possible because those guys are about the same size as me.
Randy Wittman told me not to shoot 3-pointers. That got me very uncomfortable. There were certain labels tagged on me very early in my career, spots on the floor where I felt uncomfortable.
I was tagged early as the prototypical white player, the guy with the intangibles - the smart player, the guy who did all the right things.
Luckily, I'm young and I have a great training staff that helps me take care of my body day in and day out. You make sure you're eating right. Make sure you're hitting the iron, lifting as much as you possibly can. That's easier said than done because we don't have many practice days.
I was lucky. A lot of people have that. People that don't tell you what you want to hear, but what's best for you. I was blessed with great friends. I was always blessed that way. My dad always kept good people around me. I just got lucky. Because of the spotlight you're in, people are scared to tell you otherwise.
I just try to keep the same people I've had around me from Day One. Keep it a real small circle because if you do that, not too much is going to go bad for you.
At the end of the day, I've played six years, haven't made the playoffs yet, that burns me and hurts my heart, so I really want to be playing.
I'll always have a score-first mentality, because that is my bread and butter on the floor.
Coach Wooden, when he speaks, you listen. I've taken a lot of things from him and his little blue book because to him, it's not just about basketball, it's about life as well.
I'm not the one to always follow professional protocol - but I do know what it is, even at 24 years old.
To me, throwback means I'm a smart player. I know how to play the game. I'm very skilled. I do a lot of things that other people don't do.
The more downtime we have, the more time you have to play games like 'Ghost Recon Future Soldiers,' so for me it's a fun way to get integrated into video games and for me to have fun with my buddies and team up and go into battle with 'em, kind of like out there on court.
I have a very, very good memory, and I always remember the people who have done right by me and the people who have done wrong by me.