Kevin Love Bio: Early Life, NBA & Mental-Health Warrior

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Who doesn’t know this young and brave player? Kevin Wesley Love, also famous as Kevin Love, is an NBA player who currently plays basketball for Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kevin Wesley is also an NBA championship winner with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and a five-time All-Star.

There is a saying If it’s important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse. This article will explore how Kevin found his way to the NBA and made basketball his priority.

But, before that, let’s dwell on the go-getter quick facts about Kevin Love.

Kevin Love- Quick Facts

Full Name Kevin Wesley Love
Birth Date September 7, 1988
Birth Place Santa Monica, California
Nick Name Menace, Lil Kev, Knuckle-Pushups, The Disaster Master of Plaster
Religion Not Known
Nationality American
Ethnicity White
Education Lake Oswego High School, University of California, Los Angeles
Horoscope Virgo
Father’sName Stan Love
Mother’sName Karen Love
Siblings (Sister)Emily (Brother)Love, Collin Love
Age 35 Years Old
Height 6 feet 8 inches (2.03m)
Weight 251 lb (114 kg)
Shoe Size 19 US or 18.5 UK
Hair Color Dark Brown
Eye Color Blue
Body Measurement CHEST – 47 IN or 119 CM, ARMS / BICEPS – 16 IN or 41 CM, WAIST – 37 IN or 94 CM
Build Athlete
Marital Status Single
Girlfriend Kate Bock
Position Center/ Power Forward
Profession NBA player
Net Worth $50 million
Salary around $24.4 million
Currently Plays for Cleveland Cavaliers
League NBA
Active Since 2008
Social Media Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
Merch Jersey, Poster
Last Update April, 2024

Early Life

On 7 September 1988, Love was born to his father, Stan Love, and mother, Karen Love, in Santa Monica, California.

He was the second of three children to his parents, his older brother Colin, and Emily.

His father, Stan, was also a big man of the NFL who was an adept shooter. And undoubtedly, his father’s basketball skills help him grow outside shooting and ballhandling skills.

 He was born in Santa Monica; later on, he shifted to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where he met Klay Thompson, a future NBA star and his little league teammate.

Since his childhood, he tried harder for his bounce passes with a cardboard box and keenly observed the videos of Wes Unseld.

With his father, Stan
With his father, Stan

Coming on to his schooling days, he played basketball for Lake Oswego Lakers.

And as a 10th-grade player, he scored 25.3 points, 15.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, making an emphatic win to the 2005 state championship game, unfortunately, lost to Jesuit High School.

Later on, he took part in the Reebok ABCD Camp against other top-ranked players.

He then led the team to make a perfect score of 46-0 while playing for the Southern California All-Stars and collected three MVP awards. 

Young Kevin Love
Young Kevin Love

He managed to score 28 points in his junior year, 16.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. In his senior year, he scored 33.9 points, 17.0 rebounds, and four assists per game.

With this, Lake Oswego made their way to the state championship game, where they lost in a rematch with South Medford High School and Love’s competitor Kyle Singler.

Coming to an end, Love received the Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year. He was also a first-team Parade All-American.

He accomplished his high school career with 2,628 points as the all-time leading scorer in Oregon boys’ basketball history.

Kevin, in his starting days
Kevin, in his starting days

College Career

In July 2006, Kevin decided to play college basketball at UCLA for North Carolina. His decision to play for North Carolina brought massive outrage from the University of Oregon fans who wanted him to play for the college.

He also received calls and texts that included death threats. The fans additionally oppressed Love’s family to the risk and threw trash at them during the game.

Before his rookie year, he took permission from Walt Hazzard to wear number 42 for the Bruins even though the school has retired the number 42 for Hazzard in 1996.

Kevin in his college days
Kevin in his college days

In the Pacific-10 Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament, Love led the Bruins to win over the USC Trojans with O. J. Mayo in the semifinals.

Later they both were nominated to the All-Pac-10 tournament team.

Love was proved to be a lucky mascot who served the team to the semifinal NCAA championship semifinals, where they lost to Memphis Tigers.

At the end of the regular season, Love had his first-team All-American. He also was honored with the Pac-10 Player and Freshman of the Year awards.

Kevin, wearing
Kevin, wearing #42

Professional Career

Minnesota Timberwolves

After his junior season at UCLA, Love decided to try out for the NBA draft in 2008. Luckily, Memphis Grizzlies selected Love as its fifth overall pick.

He was then transferred to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played in the NBA Summer League, where he surpassed the league in the rebound.

Kevin Love debuted in 2008. He played remarkably in the first few months in the NBA. And this was a huge payback to the ones who insulted him during the NBA All-Star Weekend Rookie Challenge.

Kevin Love on the court
Kevin Love on the court

He, without any pause, continued to top the charts. And in March 2009, he was praised with the Rookie of the Month award.

Coming to the end of his rookie season, he won over all the rookies in the NBA and had 29 double-doubles, making him the first Minnesota Timberwolves player to accomplish the feat.

He was also rated as the first rookie since the 1984/85 seasons to win the league in offensive rebound percentage.

He was thus made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and stood sixth in the voting for the Rookie of the year.

Kevin with 2010 Championship Gold Medal and Trophy
Kevin with 2010 Championship Gold Medal and Trophy

After a left-hand injury that he sustained, he returned to action in 2009. He was removed from 18 games in his sophomore year because of the injury.

However, he was rewarded with the NBA’s Most Improved Player title at the end of the season.

After his victory to 31 points, and 31 rebounds against the New York Knicks, he also received his first All-Star selection.

In his 2011-12 season, Love was named to the All-NBA second team and ranked 6th in the MVP voting. This happened after his praiseworthy defeat against Kevin Durant.

Following that, Love’s performance was again meritorious for the 2013-14 season. He popped up as the first record breaker to score 2000 points, 100 three-pointers, and 900 rebounds.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-date)

Kevin was traded to  Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014. For the first season, he was recruited for the playoffs.

Unfortunately, he suffered a dislocated shoulder injury and could not perform for the playoffs.

Kevin signed a new contract with the Cavaliers in 2015. Bringing himself back into action, he led the Cavaliers to win over the NBA finals Golden State Warriors.

Precisely, this was the first NBA win in 52 years for the Cavaliers. But they lost to the Golden State Warriors.

He suffered from a toe injury during the 2018-19 season after signing a deal with the Cavaliers worth $120 million.

Unfortunately, he had to lose his 50 games here. He came back to action in February.

In May 2021, the young basketball scored a season-high point and 14 rebounds in a 102-94 win over Boston Celtics.

National Team career

Love has performed for the US National team in various competitions, such as the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where he headed the team to win gold.

At the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Love was also a member of the unbeatable team that won gold.

Love was ready to play in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but he withdrew his name.

Kevin Love’s Career Stats

Career stats
 
Year
Team
GP
Min
Pts
FG%
3pt%
Reb
Ast
Stl
Blk
2020
 
Cavaliers
25
24.9
12.2
40.9
36.5
7.4
2.5
0.6
0.1
2019
 
Cavaliers
56
31.8
17.6
45.0
37.4
9.8
3.2
0.6
0.3
2018
 
Cavaliers
22
27.2
17.0
38.5
36.1
10.9
2.2
0.3
0.2
2017
 
Cavaliers
59
28.0
17.6
45.8
41.5
9.3
1.7
0.7
0.4
2016
 
Cavaliers
60
31.4
19.0
42.7
37.3
11.1
1.9
0.9
0.3
2015
 
Cavaliers
77
31.5
16.0
41.9
36.0
9.9
2.4
0.8
0.5
2014
 
Cavaliers
75
33.8
16.4
43.4
36.7
9.7
2.2
0.7
0.5
2013
 
Timberwolves
77
36.3
26.1
45.7
37.6
12.5
4.4
0.8
0.5
2012
 
Timberwolves
18
34.3
18.3
35.2
21.7
14.0
2.3
0.7
0.5
2011
 
Timberwolves
55
39.0
26.0
44.8
37.2
13.3
2.0
0.9
0.5
2010
 
Timberwolves
73
35.8
20.2
47.0
41.7
15.2
2.5
0.6
0.4
2009
 
Timberwolves
60
28.6
14.0
45.0
33.0
11.0
2.3
0.7
0.4
2008
 
Timberwolves
81
25.3
11.1
45.9
10.5
9.1
1.0
0.4
0.6
Career
 
738
31.7
18.0
44.2
37.0
11.0
2.4
0.7
0.4

Kevin Love’s Personal Life

Kevin’s relative includes the most celebrities, such as Uncle Mike, the founder of The BeachBoys. Also, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Dennis Wilson were his relatives.

His aunt, Kathleen McCartney Hearst, was a successful triathlete.

There is nothing hidden about Kevin’s love affair. The handsome and dashing player Kevin Love is not single; he is committed.

As per sources, Kevin has been in a relationship with the beautiful Canadian model Kate Bock for “nearly six years.”

Kevin with his girlfriend
Kevin with his girlfriend

The couple in 2021 got engaged to each other and hoped they will soon tie the wedding knot.

Love was the first-ever NBA player to join the band for the St. Jude charity program by the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital after working with the hospital as part of the league’s “Rookie Relief” community.

Love has taken his middle name from Wes Unseld, the former Washington Bullets center and the Loves’ family friend.

Mental Health Warrior

In March 2018, Kevin came up, unveiling his depression struggles in response to DeMar DeRozan‘s public discussion.

Love confronted that he visited a therapist for several months following a panic attack during a game in November 2017.

In August 2018, Love advocated for mental health awareness, disclosing his family’s history of depression, struggles, anxiety, anger, and dark times.

He would stay all alone in his room and not talk to anyone.

Philanthropist

In 2018, he found the Kevin Love Fund to help more than 1 billion people improve their physical and emotional well-being, fighting anxiety for the coming five years.

On March 12, 2020, Love’s fund donated $100,000 to help the staff of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, where the Cleveland Cavaliers play, who were unable to work during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.

Cavaliers center Andre Drummond also joined him, funding an amount of $60,000.

The Kevin Love Fund provided a truckload of lunches to the Cleveland Clinic’s Medical Intensive Care Unit staff and personally thanked the healthcare workers using facetime in April 2020.

Kevin also declared that his fund would pledge $500,000 to establish the Kevin Love Fund Chair in UCLA’s psychology department.

The $1 million investment will encourage a scholar from psychology departments in the United States to work for people who fight against anxiety and depression day in and day out.

According to one of the newspapers in the California Orange County Register, Love donated around $1 million to UCLA Athletics in September 2016.

Endorsements

Love inked a 6-year endorsement contract with the Chinese shoe company 361 Degrees in 2011.

In 2012, Love was also an investor in a website.

In 2016, Kevin became the new style ambassador and campaign model for the Banana Republic.

Media Appearances

Love showed up on the front cover of NCAA Basketball 09 in 2009 for a video game.

Kevin Love also appeared on the Disney Channel show  The Suite Life on Deck “during the season 3 episode. He appeared with Dwight Howard and Deron Williams.

Love also showed up in the HBO television series Entourage in its seventh-season finale, “Lose Yourself.”

Love is also a part of an online advertising campaign by Pepsico for Pepsi max.

Kevin Love’s Net Worth

Love has agreed to sign a four-year contract extension with the Cavaliers worth $120 million, and according to online sources,

The net worth of Kevin Love is estimated to be around $50 million as of [current year].

We are still not aware of his exact salary amount.

Kevin Love lives a luxurious life. He has a gym constructed in his apartment. He also visits exotic places for his vacation and keeps posting about his travel stories on Instagram.

Kevin Love has many branded cars named Audi, BMW, Pagani Huayra BC, and Ferrari.

Net Worth of Kevin Love in Different Currencies

Here is a short description of Kevin Love’s net worth in different currencies, including the Bitcoin and the Indian Rupee.

Currency Net Worth
Euro 42,375,250 
Pound Sterling £36,523,250 
Australian Dollar A$68,134,250 
Canadian Dollar C$63,828,500 
Indian Rupee 3,744,567,500 
BitCoin ฿1,625 

Social Media Presence

We can easily find him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. He has a whopping amount of followers. If you haven’t followed him yet, give him a follow.

Facebook- @kevinloveofficial and has 2M followers.

Twitter- @kevinlove has 3.1M followers.

Instagram- @kevinlove has 3.1m followers.

You may be interested in knowing about two other upcoming superstars of the NBA, Devon Hall, and Alize Johnson.

Some FAQs

Is Kevin Engaged?

Yes, Kevin is engaged with the love of his life Kate Bock. They got engaged to each other in April 2021.

How many Kids do Kevin and Kate Have?

Kevin and Kate have no kids. The couples are focusing more on their career rather than setting up their family.

What is the Jersey Number of Kevin?

He wears Jersey Number 0.

Anjali Gupta
Anjali Gupta

Anjali Gupta

Anjali Gupta is a passionate sports journalist with a deep love for athletics. Her dedication to the world of sports shines through in her writing, where she combines insightful analysis with compelling storytelling to engage readers.

Expertise:

Sports Journalism Athlete Profiles

Highlights

  • Anjali has a proven track record of delivering compelling stories and in-depth profiles of athletes from various disciplines.
  • Her ability to capture the essence of sporting events and the journeys of athletes sets her apart in the field of sports journalism.

Experience

Anjali's journey in sports journalism began with her fascination for athletes' stories and the thrill of competition. Over the years, she has cultivated her skills, delving into the intricacies of different sports and sharing the triumphs and struggles of athletes through her writing.

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