Kevin Love’s last official NBA game was way back in March since the Cleveland Cavaliers were among the “Delete 8” teams who were not invited back for the resumption of the 2019-20 campaign at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
While the long hiatus brought upon by the pandemic has certainly been bothersome for the one-time NBA champion, Love revealed that he continues to grind during the longest offseason of his basketball career. Love, who is now getting up there in age at 32, credited MLB great Derek Jeter for keeping his body active during layoffs.
“I learned from Derek Jeter—thankfully, early on in my career—that it’s a lot easier to stay in shape than [it is] to get back in shape,” the 5-time All-Star said in a Instagram Live clip with GQ’s Clay Skipper. “I was a fat boy early on so I had to learn that the hard way.”
Judging by Love’s several workout videos on his Instagram page, it looks like the Cavs forward has certainly kept himself busy and ready to go for the 2020-21 campaign.
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Repetitions – Reloads & Step Ins👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 @cbrickley603
Kevin Love has certainly gone on quite the transformation ever since he first entered the league in 2008. The 6-foot-8 stretch 4 was on the pudgy side when the Memphis Grizzlies selected him fifth overall and was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft day. It’s no coincidence that the former Bruin attained All-Star status around the time he dropped the weight and got in much better shape.
Love will enter his 12th year in the league next season with a cloud of uncertainty above his head. His name has been linked to multiple trade rumors for several years now considering the Cavs are still in rebuilding mode. Plenty of contenders are indeed in the market for the sweet-shooting big man, who notched 17.6 points on 37.4 percent shooting from downtown, along with 9.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 56 games last season.
Apart from keeping his body healthy, Love has long been a vocal advocate of the importance of mental health among professional athletes. He recently opened the world’s first mental health gym.
“We can be better as a whole,” Love said about balancing physical and mental health. “We can be better as a collective. It’s not me, me, me. It’s we. That’s what I’ve learned more than anything throughout this entire period. It’s just so much bigger than me. This is about all of us.”