Kevin Love
Kevin Wesley Love ( born September 7, 1988 in Santa Monica, California) is an American NBA player of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the position of power forward since 2008. He is the most important performers of the franchise, three-time All-Star player and has its strengths in points and rebounds, so he often reaches Double Doubles.
- 6.1 Regular Season
- 6.2 Play-Offs
Childhood
Kevin Love, the son of Karen and Stan Love was born in Santa Monica, the second of three children and moved a year later with his parents to Portland ( Oregon). His father Stan Love played in the 1970s as a forward in the NBA with the Baltimore Bullets and the Los Angeles Lakers. He is a nephew of Beach Boys member Mike Love.
The father brings him early basketball close and shows him filming the Los Angeles Lakers as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul- Jabbar were there still players, and games against their great rivals, the Boston Celtics. Other great players, he began to study at the age of five years by video, were Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan.
High School
Kevin Love went to the Lake Oswego High School in Clackamas County, Oregon. There he was one of the best basketball players in his class. In his career at the high school he reached 26.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. As a student of the 10th grade, he leads the Lake Oswego in the Oregon State High School Basketball Championship game in 2005, but the team lost to Jesuit High School 57-53.
UCLA
In July 2006, Love announced that he will play for the University of California. On 17 April 2008 he informed them that he would leave the UCLA Bruins and sign up for the Draft.
NBA career
Kevin Love was drafted by Memphis Grizzlies and then placed in an 8 -player trade in which OJ Mayo was also traded to the Timberwolves. In his first Summer League game against the Dallas Mavericks, he went to 18 points and 13 rebounds and in his second game against the Los Angeles Lakers get him 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Loves first participation in an NBA game was made for a total of 19 minutes on October 29, 2008 against the Sacramento Kings; yet he was able to contribute to the 98-96 victory for the Timberwolves 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. During his first season he scored an average of 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds. With 29 double doubles he was in these statistics tenth best player in 2008/2009 and with 734 rebounds so far the best rookie of the franchise. He was at the end of the season 6th in the choice of the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.
His second season started with an injury in a preseason game against the Chicago Bulls on October 16, 2009. He suffered a fracture in his left hand, which he missed the first 19 games of the season. Love came back in December when he featured against the New Orleans Hornets, where he coming in 24 minutes 11 points and rebounds managed by the Bank. At the end of the season were 14.0 points and 11.1 rebounds for Love. Despite the missed matches he scored 36 more double doubles than the previous season and was seventh- best player in 2009/2010 at this value. With 25 rebounds Love managed this season for the first time in his NBA career game with more than 20 rebounds.
In the following season, he became one of the top players in the league. On 12 November 2010 he scored in the game against the New York Knicks 31 points, 31 rebounds and 5 assists to. This was the first NBA game in 28 years, in which a player scored a double-double with over 30 points and rebounds. His 31 rebounds are also the highest value ever achieved by a player of the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA game. On February 4, 2011 Kevin Love has been named as a reserve for the injured Yao Ming All-Star. Four days later, Love recorded his 38th double double in a row, breaking a previously held by Kevin Garnett internal team record for the Minnesota Timberwolves. On February 27, 2011 Love scored 37 points and pulled 23 rebounds against the Golden State Warriors. This was his fourth of the season and 30/20-Spiel the highest number of games with these statistics since Shaquille O'Neal could / 2000 recorded five such games in 1999. On 7 March 2011, he scored in a game against the Dallas Mavericks with 23 points and 17 rebounds his 51st double-double in series, so he set the previous record of Moses Malone. On 9 March 2011 Love scored his 52nd double double in a row and thus set a new NBA record (since the merger of the NBA and ABA) for consecutive double doubles on. Overall, stood at the end of the season 64 Double Doubles, which he was the best NBA players in these statistics. Love was recognized for its increase at the end of the season 2010/2011 for Most Improved Player. He is the first player since 1983, who scored more than 20 points and more than 15 rebounds per game. The last to have managed this was Moses Malone.
In the 2011/2012 season his contract was extended to four years, with the fourth year a player option. On 24 March 2012, he presented with a 51 points the previous team record of Kevin Garnett. Love reached again this season double digits in points and rebounds, 48 Double Doubles, by which he was best in the NBA, and was voted into the All -Star team. At the Olympic Summer Games 2012 in London he won the gold medal with the U.S. selection.
Due to a serious hand injury graduated Love in the 2012-13 season, only 18 games for the Timberwolves. 2014 Love was first appointed to the starting grid of the Western Conference.
Achievements
NBA
- 3 × NBA All-Star: 2011, 2012, 2014
- Most Improved Player Award 2011 ( most improved player)
- Winner of the NBA All-Star Weekend Three- Point Shootout 2012
- All- NBA Second Team: 2012
- Best rebounder the league: 2011
- NBA All- Rookie Second Team: 2009
Internationally
- World Champion 2010
- Olympic champion in 2012
Career Statistics
Regular Season
Play-Offs
To date, no participation.