30 Mind-Blowing Facts That Every Fan Should Know About Kevin Love

15 April 2019, 8:22 pm EDT By Ruby Karnick

Kevin Love, a top-ranked prospect out of Lake Oswego High School in Oregon, is currently playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Here are some really unique facts about the American professional basketball player:

He was born Kevin Wesley Love on September 07, 1988, in Santa Monica, California, to Karen and Stan Love. He has an older brother Collin and a younger sister, Emily.
His father Stan Love was former NBA player in early 70s. His middle name, Wesley was given in honor of father Stan’s Baltimore Bullets teammate Wes Unseld.
Love grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon, along with his childhood friend and ‘Little league’ teammate Klay Thompson. They played on the same Lake Oswego All-Star baseball teams in the fifth and sixth grades.
He attended Lake Oswego High School and played basketball for Lake Oswego Lakers. In his sophomore year he averaged 25.3 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game to lead Lakers to the 2005 state championship game, where they lost to Jesuit High School.
Love averaged 26.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in four year as varsity starter at Lake Oswego High School and broke 50 year old scoring record with 2,628 points. He was the first player in state history to become three-time Oregon Player of the Year.
He joined University of California after ignoring the University of Oregon, his father’s alma mater. This irked some Ducks fans and viewed Love as a traitor. From warm-ups to the final seconds, during the game they booed the Bruins’ No. 42 and his family.
Love guided Bruins to the regular season Pac-10 conference championship and was named consensus first-team All-American, Pac-10 Player of the Year, All-Pac-10, and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. He led the Bruins with 17.5 points, 10.6 rebound, and 23 double-doubles.
He was picked fifth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2008 NBA draft and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the 2008 NBA Summer League, Love led all players in rebounding with13.5 points.
On October 29, 2008, Love made an impressive debut with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 19 minutes to help the Timberwolves to a 98-96 victory over Sacramento Kings. He said ‘it was start of my dream, to tell you the truth.’
After McHale took charge and with injury to Al Jefferson, Love received more playing time. He was named NBA Rookie of the Month for March, when he recorded four double-double in the month.
Love ended the 2008-09, season ninth in the league in rebounding, first among rookies and was third in total offensive rebounds. He also recorded 29 double-doubles, the most by a Timberwolves rookie in franchise history and was named to the 2009 NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

On October 16, 2009, he fractured a bone in his left hand during the Timberwolves’ 94-90 preseason loss to the Chicago Bulls. Following a surgery, Love missed the first 18 games of the season.
He ended the 2009-10, season as the NBA’s best rebounder per 48 minutes and was selected to play in NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge.
On November 12, 2010, in a game against New York Knicks, Love recorded 31 points and along with career high 31 rebounds, to become the 19thplayer and first since Moses Malone in 1982 to record a ’30-30’ game. His 31 rebound is a franchise record and most by a player in NBA since 1996.
Despite Love averaging 21.4 points, 15.5 rebounds, with 34 straight double-double and shooting percentage of 43.9 from three point range, was not selected even as an All-Star reserve. However he was named as replacement for the injured Yao Ming to his first NBA All-Star Game by the commissioner David Stern.
In a game against Rockets on February 08, 2011, he set a Timberwolves record of 38 consecutive double-double. He scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in 112-108 win.
Love’s remarkable streak of consecutive double-double came to an end after being held to 6 points and 12 rebounds in the Timberwolves’ 100-77 loss to Golden State Warriors. His 53-game streak was a franchise record and longest in the NBA since 1973-74.
In April 2011, Love was voted to ‘NBA Most Improved Player Award,’ of 2011 season, when he received 400 out of possible 580 points, including 66 first place votes. He established career high in rebounding and became the first player to average at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a season since 1982-83.
Love emerged as new face of Timberwolves since Garnett was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007. His No.42 was the Wolves’ top selling jersey, comparable to Kevin Garnett’s when he was in his prime.
On January 25, 2012, He signed a four year contract extension worth up to $62 million with player option to opt out after the third year. Love stated that he should have had a five-year designated player extension.

Love is the first player since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1992 to start the season with 13 straight double-doubles and has topped 30 points in three straight games for the first time in his career.
On February 06, he was handed a two-game suspension for stepping on the face of Houston’s Luis Scola, though Love defended it as an accident.
Toward the end of 2011-12, season Love won the Three-Point Shootout, defeating Kevin Durant in the finals. He also scored a career high 51 points on March 23 and set a franchise record for most games scoring over 30 points in a season.
On October 17, 2012, the two time All-Star broke his right hand in a morning workout and missed five weeks. Love broke the third and fourth metacarpals on his shooting hand.
On January 3, 2013, Love re-fractured his shooting hand in a game against Denver Nuggets. After surgery he missed reminder of the season in a recovery process.
When Love scored a third pointer midway through the third quarter of Wolves loss to Raptors on March 09, he broke the franchise record of 3-pointers in a season with his 143rd surpassing Rashad McCants’ record of 142 set in 2007-08.
He became the first player in NBA history to record 2,000 points, 900 rebounds, and 100 three pointers in a single season at the end of 2013-14, season. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the second time in his career.
On August 23, 2014, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a three team trade. In the Game 1 of the first round play-off, Love dislocated his left shoulder and was ruled out for four to six months after surgery. He subsequently opted out of the contract only to re-sign with the Cavaliers.
He was also part of United States national team that won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and at the 2012 London Olympic.
Love appeared on the front cover of the video game NCAA Basketball 09. He was one of the featured stars in the film ‘Gunnin for That No.1 Spot,’ and also on the Disney Channel show, ‘The Suite Life on Deck,’ as himself.