Kevin Love is having his best season in years for the Cavs

“It’s Grandpa Kev, not Uncle Kev”- How it began in Cleveland

When the Cleveland Cavaliers originally brought Kevin Love to the organization it was adding one more piece to the Cavs’ puzzle towards the goal of winning an NBA title alongside then Cavaliers Lebron James and Kyrie Irving. The year was 2014 and Love had been the centerpiece of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was a talented kid coming out of UCLA as a power forward that could hit the outside shot and yet gobble up rebounds too. The Cavs traded away Andrew Wiggins at the time, who was their first-round pick that same summer.

With the three stars aligned in James, Irving, and Love the Wine and Gold challenged for the title for several years and claimed the prize in 2016. Along the way, Love continued to sign new contracts with the team and is now in the middle of a huge deal that pays him north of $31 million a season.

During this time the Cavs have also struggled horribly after James and Irving bolted for the big cities of New York and Los Angeles. Love has struggled over that same time with injuries and a psyche that was being challenged daily. The team wasn’t winning. He was being asked to be the new leader of a very young team and he simply seemed out of sync these last three seasons.

But all of a sudden and in the blink of an eye, the Cavaliers have been reborn with a new group of very young but talented kids, and Love is at the front of the line leading by example every day. It’s been such a dramatic turnaround for both the team and Love personally that it should become a Hollywood-made movie someday.

When you start reviewing Love’s career by the books, this may not be his best year statistically in terms of biggest numbers, but it is, in terms of his efficient production and what is helping this team accomplish by his leadership.

Let’s look a bit more at Love’s numbers and also chat more about the leadership quality that is so important this season.