Miami Heat forward Kevin Love has made it clear he has no plans to retire from basketball just yet. Ahead of Game 5 against the Boston Celtics, the 35-year-old said he “would like to keep playing” in the NBA.
“I don’t want to retire,” he said ahead of Wednesday night’s Game 5 against the Celtics in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference opening-round playoff series. “I would like to keep playing.”
The former NBA champion has a $4 million player option for next season. Even if he accepts it, the Heat can still move on from him this summer. Currently, the Heat are down 3-1 to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. In four playoff games, Love is averaging 1.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1 assist over 7.5 minutes per game. Love scored seven points in Game 1, but he has gone scoreless in each game since.
Regarding Love’s spotty playoff minutes, head coach Erik Spoelstra has said it is “not an indictment on anybody.”
“I was looking for a spark once we got down 20,” Spoelstra said of moving away from Love. “This is not an indictment on anybody. Things move fast in a playoff series. It was tough to get a read on anything when we were playing out of that hole for most of three quarters.”
Furthermore, Love is taking this as an opportunity “to stay ready.”
“I think it’s on me just to stay ready, whether it’s plug minutes or a long stint,” Love said. “Or just understanding that this is a team that you have to switch against a lot. Naturally, that plays to a lot of guys’ strengths and there’s certain lineups that we do that.”
NBA Champion Not Expected to Retire After Postseason
Kevin Love’s Miami Heat Career
After spending nearly nine years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Love signed with Miami in February 2023. Though he was not the same double-double machine he used to be, Love could still be a useful player. In 21 games with the Heat last season, Love started 17 of them. During that time, the UCLA alum averaged 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. In the playoffs, Love started 18 of Miami’s 20 games and helped the team reach the NBA Finals before losing to the Denver Nuggets in five games.
This season, Love has primarily been used off the bench. In 55 games, he only started in five of them. Last month, Spoelstra talked about Love’s role as a bench player and why it is helpful to the team.
“If you could get players of his caliber to do that all the time in his mid 30’s,” says about his acceptance of the bench role “On any given night, he can still be who he was in short bursts.”
The Last Word on Kevin Love
Love is clearly approaching the last chapter of his NBA career. Even if it doesn’t happen after this season, it’s tough to imagine he has much time left in the league. Basketball Reference gives Love a 73.5% chance of making it to the Hall of Fame. Seemingly a lock for induction, it will be a sad day when one of the league’s most dominant big men from the 2010s calls it a day. However, luckily for NBA fans, that day isn’t today.
