Facebook/Google - labeled for reuse Kevin Love's parents Stan and Karen are some of his biggest supporters.
Kevin Love comes from a family of athletes and musicians. His father, Stan Love, was also a professional basketball player, and his uncle Mike Love was a founding member of the Beach Boys. Growing up, Love worked hard and honed his game, with the help of his supportive parents and relatives.
Love’s father introduced Kevin to basketball at a very young age, priming him for a successful career with the NBA, and for that Love is grateful.
“It’s pretty special to be trying to follow in his footsteps and kind of do what my dad did,” Love told ESPN.
Here’s what you need to know about Love’s family:
1. Stan Love was Kevin’s “First and Best Coach” Who Taught Him Everything He Knew About Basketball When He Was Young
Stan Love was a basketball star decades before his son Kevin Love followed in his footsteps.
Kevin’s father, a former professional basketball player as well, played for the Lakers, Bullets and Spurs throughout his NBA career.
Stan Love was known as somewhat “flaky” during his time with the NBA. According to ESPN, he was known for his goofy antics, such as scooting across the floor, mock-rowing like an Olympic sculler after being subbed out of a game. Kevin Love agrees that his dad was a “character,” who taught him everything he knows about basketball.
“That sounds like him,” Kevin Love told ESPN. “He definitely is a character — eccentric, a little different — but he’s the reason why and how I play today. He taught me basically everything I know up to this point. Obviously I’ve tweaked a few things, I’ve had proper coaching and proper skill work. But all that is base and everything in my skill set comes from him.”
Kevin Love describes his dad as an “athletic springboard” and a hard-nosed type of player. The elder Love even named Kevin after Wes Unseld, former basketball player for the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets.
“My dad has dropped a lot of knowledge on me throughout the years. He placed a ball in my hands from an early age, so basketball has always been in my blood,” Kevin told ESPN. “It’s pretty special to be trying to follow in his footsteps and kind of do what my dad did, but also a little bit of what [Unseld] did as well.”
2. Kevin’s Mom Karen Felt like Her Kids Grew Up in a Gymnasium After Traveling so Much for Basketball Games
According to Kevin, he had a “sane mom and an insane dad.”
“That balanced things out. No. I’m kidding. My dad is the best dad in the world. But you know, my mom is always there to smooth things out. And there was never any jealousy for us kids.”
According to the Oregonian, Karen said she always felt sorry for her kids because the family’s life revolved so much around basketball. With all the practices and tournaments, it felt like they lived in a gymnasium.
However, she and her husband tried hard to not put any of their children on a pedestal. They made sure not to push them too hard and let their children find their own passions and interests.
Happy Mothers Day!! My Beautiful mother Karen and me sharing a moment after my committing to UCLA. http://t.co/bpRr16Cjuq
3. Mike Love, a Founding Member of the Beach Boys, is Kevin’s Uncle
PHOENIX, AZ – MARCH 18: Singer Mike Love of the Beach Boys performs onstage during Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XXIII at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa on March 18, 2017 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night)
Mike Love, Kevin’s uncle, was a founding member of the Beach Boys and one of the band’s vocalists and lyricists.
Apparently, the younger Love didn’t even realize how big of a deal his uncle was until his freshman year in college. During an interview with Sports Illustrated, he admitted that some people seemed more impressed with his uncle than the fact that he played basketball.
“Everyone was like, ‘Oh cool, you play basketball, but your uncle is Mike Love of The Beach Boys.’ I grew up with that. My parents grew up with that.” Love said.
“I’d see him a few times throughout the year. We’d go see his concerts, I understood that. But I didn’t realize how big the Beach Boys thing was until I got down to Southern California.”
4. The Love Family Received Threats and Poor Treatment From Oregon Fans After Kevin Chose to Attend UCLA Instead of His Father’s Alma Mater
BOSTON, MA – MAY 23: Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on in the first half against the Boston Celtics during Game Five of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Oregon, Stan Love’s alma mater, was apparently the cause for some controversy after his Kevin chose to go to UCLA over Oregon.
Stan Love once said he’d “never go back there” after the Love family received threats and vulgar treatment from Ducks fans upon attending a UCLA-Oregon game on the Ducks campus while Kevin was playing college ball.
In the mid-1970s and 1980s, Stan Love was employed as a full-time bodyguard, trainer and assistant to Brian Wilson, working to keep the musician’s daily life drug-free. In 1982, Love was fined $750 and placed on six months’ probation for a home invasion and assault on Dennis Wilson with fellow bodyguard Rocky Pamplin.
Stan and his wife currently resides in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
5. Love Has Extended Family That Are Also Incredibly Athletic; His Aunt Won the Ironman World Championship in 1982
BOSTON, MA – MAY 13: Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts from the bench late in the fourth quarter in his teams loss to the Boston Celtics in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden on May 13, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-83. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
According to an interview with the NBA, Love says that it isn’t just he and his father that great up playing basketball; many of members of his family are very athletic as well.
“What people don’t know is that my aunt on my mother’s side, Kathleen Hearst, had won the Ironman World Championship in 1982 in Kona. My dad and I always laugh when we’re asked about who’s the best athlete in the family. It’s my Aunt Kathy!