Utah Jazz big man Kevin Love is in his 18th season in the NBA. While he’s past his prime years, he’s still an effective veteran for the young Jazz group. Now older and wiser, Love has become a valued teammate over the past few seasons. However, that hasn’t always been the case for the five-time All-Star. In an interview with Sarah Todd of Deseret News, the former celebrity disclosed one of his greatest regrets.
Love revealed that he regretted not being a great teammate to Ricky Rubio. The Spanish guard was the former No. 5 pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009. He and the big man, who went on to become the Wolves’ superstar, created a dynamic duo.
The duo didn’t reach the playoffs in the three seasons they were teammates. During that time, Love admitted to not being the best teammate, especially to Rubio.
“One of my biggest regrets … is that I wish I was a better teammate for him and other guys, but really for him, because he really cared,” Love said. “I actually apologized. It had haunted me that I’d never said that.
After their stint together with the Wolves, their paths once again crossed with the Cleveland Cavaliers. At that time, both were veteran leaders. The pair played two more seasons as teammates in Cleveland, and Rubio announced his retirement from the NBA in January 2024. The European guard wanted to focus on mental health.
“I was a bad teammate,” Kevin Love said. ““I was selfish, angry, bitter, entitled, arrogant, I had bad habits. But more than anything, I was a bad teammate.”
Kevin Love didn’t expect to be traded to the Jazz
Even at 37 years old, Kevin Love has been productive for the Jazz. He’s appeared in 22 games this season, averaging 7.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Utah acquired the 6-foot-8 forward-center during the offseason via trade with the Miami Heat. It was a three-team deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Now that a third of the regular season has been played, Love revealed that he did not expect to be traded to the Jazz.
“I did not expect to be traded but as far as a landing spot goes and just saying, yeah, so many people are saying ‘Oh what if it doesn’t work out? What if it doesn’t work out?’ I’m like ‘What if it does?’, right?” Love said in his recent appearance in “The Young Man and the Three.”
“And I think just adding value whether I’m playing or not is something that’s given me a lot of happiness and a lot of joy this late in my career. And I think that has allowed me to see a lot of the good and what this team has been able to bring and move forward.”
It has worked out for Love and the Jazz, as he’s now the veteran leader the young team needs.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
