Listen up, local sports fans, it’s time to show more love toward Kevin Love.
The Wolves marketers have concocted more ticket bargains than any franchise in town but there are still a lot of empty seats in Target Center for Timberwolves games. Those unfilled seats are commentary by a disinterested public that has watched the Wolves make an annual habit of losing records and missing the playoffs, but this year’s model is better and nobody deserves attention more than Love, the 22-year-old power forward who leads the NBA in rebounding.
In his third NBA season Love is averaging 15.6 rebounds per game. He has a single game high of 31 on a night last month when he also scored 31 points. It was the first 30-30 performance in the league since 1982. “This guy is one of the greatest rebounders ever to play this game,” said Jim Petersen, the Wolves TV analyst, during a game last week.
At least for now that might be beyond where some observers would go, but heed this: No NBA player has averaged more than 16 rebounds since Dennis Rodman (16.1) did so during the 1996-97 season. Love is also second on the team in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game, and is also a creative and unselfish passer.
But what makes insiders gush about Love is he’s a modest young man with values as worthy of praise as his impressive rebounding totals. I’ve never been around him, seen him on TV or heard him on the radio when he hasn’t been cordial. He even thanks the media for interviewing him.
This fall he’s promoting his annual coat drive for the disadvantaged, partnering with Comcast and the Salvation Army. Fans can bring new or “gently” used coats to any of eight metro-area drop-off locations, including the Target Center Box Office and Comcast service centers. The drive ends Friday.
In the NBA some players have been known for their police record or number of children they fathered with different women. On-court stats have been nice but in their personal lives the facts don’t always look so good.
Get out and see Love. Applaud him for his basketball skills, the all-out effort he’s giving to help transform the Wolves into a better team, and for being a welcome addition to this community.