NBA star Kevin Love shares how he overcame suicidal thoughts and found strength in mental health awareness.
Kevin Wesley Love, born September 7, 1988, in Santa Monica, California, has had a distinguished basketball career spanning more than a decade in the NBA.
The son of former NBA player Stan Love, Kevin emerged as a top-ranked high school prospect in Oregon, excelling at Lake Oswego High School, where he became the all-time leading scorer in Oregon boys’ basketball history with 2,628 points.
He played one season at UCLA, guiding the Bruins to the 2008 NCAA Final Four and earning consensus First Team All-American honors.
Love declared for the 2008 NBA Draft and was selected fifth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
During his time in Minnesota, he won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in 2011 and led the league in rebounding.
After six seasons, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, where he played a pivotal role in the team’s four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and the 2016 championship victory.
Despite injuries and reduced playing time in later seasons, Love continued his career with the Miami Heat, reaching his fifth NBA Finals in 2023.
Beyond basketball, Love has become a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, dedicating his platform to helping others struggling with similar challenges.
Kevin Love Reveals the Dark Moments of His Career When Suicidal Thoughts Threatened His Life
Despite his remarkable success on the court, Love has faced profound mental health challenges throughout his life.
In 2012, during his tenure with the Timberwolves, he described feeling a sense of hopelessness that led to frequent suicidal thoughts. He revealed,
“The future started to feel meaningless. And when it gets to the point where you lose hope, that’s when the only thing you can think about is, ‘How can I make this pain go away?’”
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Love explained that during his darkest moments, he would contemplate ways to end his life, though he never attempted suicide.
These moments, he admitted, were frightening and isolating.
A turning point came in November 2018, when Love suffered a severe panic attack during a game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Feeling as if his heart would explode and struggling to breathe, he collapsed on the locker room floor.
This terrifying experience prompted him to seek professional help and commit to regular therapy, cognitive behavioral treatment, and, later, medication to manage his mental health.
Love has since used his platform to destigmatize mental illness, sharing his journey openly with the public and creating the Kevin Love Fund to support mental health awareness among children and young athletes.
He emphasizes that depression and anxiety are ongoing battles, and that reaching out for help can be life-saving.
Love’s candid discussions about his struggles have offered hope to countless individuals, proving that even those who appear most successful can face invisible battles, and that seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Kevin Love was a childhood friend and a Little League teammate with future NBA star Klay Thompson.
- He practiced bounce passes using a cardboard box as a child while studying tapes of Wes Unseld.
- During high school, he played for the Southern California All-Stars, helping the team compile a 46–0 record and earning three MVP awards.
