Love Story
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It’s been a trying few months, so that’s why it feels even better to be in the middle of Love Week here on Cavs.com -- focusing on the Wine & Gold’s productive, skilled, social conscious and, yes, dashing power forward, Kevin Love.
The former UCLA star had already put up Hall of Fame-size numbers before he ever arrived in an offseason trade just before the 2014-15 season. And the man responsible for the biggest defensive stop in franchise history has continued to do so in a Cavaliers uniform.
A five-time NBA All-Star and World Champion, Love also knows how to share the love – earning the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at this year’s ESPYs for his work to destigmatize mental illness and work with those suffering from its effects on various levels.
Love is also one of the most quotable of all Cavaliers, so here’s a look at some things he’s had to say over the years …
Growin' Up
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… on the Cavaliers growing pains as a young team last year, and how JB Bickerstaff helped them gel …
“I think that was our Achilles heel the whole year, I think that that kind of shows when your team is young, you have to figure out how to win and close out games. But I think just trusting one another and finding that that joy, playing together and messing with lineups (will help).
”Like our big lineup was, I felt, great to play with. I always talk about chasing the game and getting better which is just so much fun. And JB really, really helped with that.”
Helping Hand
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… on putting his own mental health aside to help out others …
“I've really learned that giving myself up for people has actually been a great way to offset those feelings of anxiety or depression. And then just understanding the why – you know, connecting the dots.
”Looking back in my life, sharing stories with some family, trying to understand where it all came from and then continuing to read and support other people and just lend an ear.
”I think that that transcends any of this – whether it be COVID-19 or mental illness or racial injustice. It's just part of, I guess, my evolution and my growth, it's something that I actually enjoy doing.”
Bear Down
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… on whether he thought he was going to start his career as a Memphis Grizzly (before being dealt to Minnesota in exchange for O.J. Mayo) …
”Initially.
”I knew that I knew that Minnesota had a lot of interest in me and Kevin McHale liked my draft workout there. But initially I thought: ‘I'm going to Memphis.’ I was ready to play, I actually thought it was a great fit.
”But I got a call at dinner that night. I was actually, I remember forwarding that call onto my voicemail; it was from my agent and I thought he just wanted to see where I was. Little did I know that I was getting phonecalls because I'd just been traded.
”So my brother handed me the phone and said: 'Hey, there's some news about a trade.' And I really didn't really think anything of it. I got up and (my agent) said you've been traded to Minnesota.
”I flew out to Minneapolis the next morning, did the press conference and I got to hold that first jersey of mine.”
Sweet Dreams
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… his response when asked – on the night before Game 7 of the 2016 Finals – if he’ll be able to sleep …
“Yeah. I'll be able to sleep.”
Strange Bruin
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… recalling a “recruiting” phonecall from Bill Walton …
"I remember Ben Howland put me on the phone with Bill Walton and he was talking all about Southern California and the girls and my uncle with the Beach Boys and playing at UCLA and there’s nothing like it.
"It was a 30-minute phone call and I remember I didn’t have much input. Because Bill likes to talk."
High Praise
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… praising Cavs assistant coach Lindsey Gottlieb …
“She's been amazing. She’s had a voice in our locker room since day one.
”She's really, really funny, smart, good to be around, knows the game and she's going to really be a force of nature moving forward because she's just badass.
”I love being around her. She's exceptional…She just has so much respect between the lines, but away from the floor as well. She has incredible people skills. She's a great mother, a great wife. She's just somebody who I would say just gets it, just lives a life of integrity and respect and empathy, will meet you halfway and will go the extra mile when it comes to respect.
”So she's exceptional. She's great.”
Bang the Drum All Day
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… after the Cavaliers had made a deal for his friend, Andre Drummond, at this past Trade Deadline …
”Dre's a guy I've known for a long time, we have the same agent. He plays extremely hard and has crazy production, so he's going to be – along with T-Top, Larry and myself – it’s going to be a pretty formidable frontcourt.
”We're going to be able to make a lot of good things happen, rebound the ball at a high clip – and then we have a number of skill guys that can play different ways. So, it makes us more competitive. We add an All-Star-level player to the team and it definitely looks good.”
Profile in Courage
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… upon winning the prestigious Arthur Asche Award at this year’s ESPYs …
"Humbled does not even begin to describe the feeling.
”I accept this award as both an honor and a challenge. A challenge to not only continue on my path, but to push beyond it, and to stay vocal, even when silence feels safer."
Good Vibrations
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… on growing up with Mike Love of the Beach Boys as your uncle …
”It was really interesting to see how people reacted to that. Because to me, he was just ‘Uncle Mike.’ My Aunt Jackie was there. My cousin, Brian, my cousin, Ambha. They were just family to me – just always down to earth and cool.
”We’d go over there every Christmas, I’d see him a few times throughout the year. We’d go see his concerts, I understood that. But I didn’t realize how big the Beach Boys thing was until I got down to Southern California.
”I didn’t get any of the musical talent from that side of the family. I always wanted to get into piano and guitar. Growing up, my sister played a little bit. And my brother, he can sing – he has a great voice. But you definitely don’t want to hear my voice.”
Seems Like Old Times
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… on recently re-watching Game 7 of the 2016 Finals …
”I think they showed Game 7 the first time, like a couple Saturdays after they postponed the season. And so we were just breaking down the game and going back and forth and just re-living it. Because that's a bond that will really never be broken.
”It doesn’t feel like that long ago that we had to come back from 3-1 and won away from home and ended that 52-year drought.
”That's something that will always be right there top-of-mind that you can never take away from us.”
Banking Hours
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… responding to the fact that a scientific study proved it’s more efficient to use the glass on shots …
“Whoa! There's a scientific study! I'm smarter than I thought.
”But, actually, that's what it feels like. It feels like you have more room for error. The way it skips off the glass, I don't know, it's just always felt like the hoop gets bigger.
”Around the basket, you're just trying to put it soft off the glass. But I think that when you're shaking in the post and you're going to your move, especially when you're going baseline, I try to use the glass quite a bit.”
Food Fight
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… recalling his dietary habits growing up as opposed to now …
“Back then, I just didn't know how to eat.
”I was I was coming from, you know, where my mom would make me food until I was full. I thought that's how to do it, and that I could get away with it. And you can at 15, 16, 17 years old.
”But once I got into the NBA, I thought: I can't eat like this anymore because guys are physically superior. And I have to do anything to get an edge.”
Good Guys Finish First
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… asked after winning the 2016 Championship if that feels like vindication …
“Well, I never got really trapped by the dogma and living with the results of other people's thinking. I just continue to fight through it and knew that tonight I just had to have one great game. I was going to go out and be aggressive on both sides of the ball as far as rebounding the basketball.
”I was just told to rise above it, especially by my teammates. We knew what all of us were capable of.
”You talk about vindication, this is the main reason that I came here and wanted to come here because I knew we'd have a great shot to win a title. Last year I felt like it was taken away from me, especially with the injury. This year got to have my first real playoff run, and it ended the way I wanted it to – and the way we all wanted it to.”