Cavs: Kevin Love to receive award for efforts in mental health work

Cleveland Cavaliers star big man Kevin Love has grown as a leader on and off the floor, and for his work in spreading the importance of mental health problems, he’s going to be receiving an award that means more than any basketball accolade.

Kevin Love is the best player on the Cleveland Cavaliers, and this season, it seems as though he’s taking the next step as a primary leader, both when he’s been on the floor and even more so off it.

For his efforts in spreading awareness of mental health problems, it was announced in The Hollywood Reporter that Love will be honored as one of three recipients of Change Maker Awards given by the Child Mind Institute on May 1 at Carnegie Hall in New York, New York (h/t the Akron Beacon Journal‘s Marla Ridenour).

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He first detailed his own dealings with mental health problems in an essay he penned for The Players Tribune last March, and it clearly opened the eyes of so many people, and countless people rallied around Love and praised him for his courage.

That was amazing to see, because so many people struggle with mental health issues, and it’s great that Love is being recognized for using his platform as an NBA star on the Cleveland Cavaliers to change the lives of so many for the better by people being more understanding of issues that go far beyond physical injury.

Love first became an advocate for making mental health issues much more well-known after he penned his essay in March of 2018 that was featured in the Players Tribune, and as Ridenour hit on, Love has since created his own fund partnered with “Headspace to promote awareness, especially for the younger generation.”

Love noted recently, though (h/t the Chronicle Telegram‘s Rick Noland) that his efforts in spreading the importance of mental health came “after DeMar DeRozan, who then played for the Toronto Raptors and is now on the San Antonio Spurs, revealed he was suffering from the same issues.”

Here’s what Love said in regards to how DeRozan opened that door for him, per Noland.

"“He was the guy that opened the door for me,” Love said. “I think I will always be not only connected to him, but thankful for him in a big way.”"

Love would go on to essentially say that awards are not why he’s spreading the importance of mental health issues, but did also mention (per Noland) that “the recognition for me in being able to change people’s lives in a positive way is pretty cool.”

Love, who has career averages of 18.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per game (according to Basketball Reference), to go with five NBA All-Star appearances and is an NBA champion, would emphasize how much this non-basketball award means to him in the grand scheme of it all, and he described how much more liberated he’s been after airing out his issues, to go with how much more people have approached him in everyday life about relating to his struggles (per Ridenour).

"“The community that’s kind of drawn together and gathered, it’s pretty apparent that this was needed, especially in 2018, 2019 and beyond,” Love said Tuesday after shootaround at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “I’ve had success, All-Stars, all-NBAs, Olympic gold medal, world championship in 2016, more than anything in my career, people have come up to me and talked about this, talked about what they’ve dealt with or talked about a family member that’s dealt with it.“I’ve been able to help people, but it’s also been therapy for me because I can live my life not in fear and I mean that in that I know I’m not alone. It’s allowed me, at least from a social anxiety standpoint, to not feel like I’m isolated. I feel like I’m part of a bigger community, which is amazing.”"

Love knows that he’s much more than a basketball player, and it’s really cool what he’s done as a result of him realizing that, and from using his platform to positively impact the lives of so many.

I love ya, K-Love, even more than you know. Props to you, and I hope you’re on the Cleveland Cavaliers for the long haul.