After 17 seasons in the NBA, Kevin Love thought he had found a home in Miami. It was the franchise that allowed him to spend time with his father, Stan, as he fought a long illness at the beginning of 2025.
Then, the Heat traded him to Utah, as part of the salary configuration in the John Collins/Norman Powell deal. It caused him to consider everything, including pursuing a buyout from the Jazz so he could try to find a new NBA destination.
“I was just kind of weighing all my options due to having my two young daughters at home,” Love said at the beginning of the season. “I’ve got a 2-year-old who’s going to preschool in Miami, and then an eight-month-old, and it was picking up and moving them within the course of a couple months.”
So the Jazz gave Love significant time to make his decision.
“I think Kevin had a really hard year, personally — his family life, personal life last year. He had a tough decision this year,” Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge said. “We wanted to be welcoming and provide him a place to come and play and have a better season.”
“He took some time with his family and decided to come,” Ainge said.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) as the Utah Jazz host the Memphis Grizzlies, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
As the calendar turns to 2026, Love has been a significant part of the identity of the Utah Jazz. While he began the season as a benchwarmer — once literally covering head coach Will Hardy’s ears while the crowd chanted “We want Love” on opening day — he’s now found himself as a part of the Jazz’s rotation. He has even started a game, albeit in the absence of Jusuf Nurkic and Lauri Markkanen.
In a Dec. 12 game against Memphis, Love put up 20 points for the first time in nearly two years. And on Dec. 20, against the Magic, he scored 16 points and gathered 16 rebounds — enough to get him a podium game with the local media. He didn’t know where the media room even was in the Delta Center; it had been a long time since he needed to do a news conference.
“I think Lyndon B. Johnson was probably in office,” Love said of the last time he’d seen the podium.
Hardy has gone to Love as an option in lineups that could use his presence — especially with those with non-shooters Isaiah Collier and Cody Williams.
“He’s an elite rebounder, and so those things continue to show up,” Hardy said of why Love has gotten more playing time recently. “And then obviously, just kind of his general savvy in his 18th year — he’s gotten a little more familiar with his teammates, and I think his spacing element gives us a different look.”
But far outstripping his impact on the court has been his impact off of it. Love’s teammates frequently talk about what he’s brought to a team in need of real veteran presence — not that of a longtime NBA player, but from a potential Hall of Famer.
Take rookie Ace Bailey, who’s asking Love about what it takes to succeed in the NBA. Bailey said he’d asked Love about his footwork when rolling into the paint, and Love showed him how important it is to play off of two feet. “Drawing fouls, giving you a better option, and it also gives you an escape.” He learned it from Love.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) as the Utah Jazz host the Memphis Grizzlies, NBA basketball in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025.
From Love’s point of view, though, the biggest difference is how players are communicating with one another.
“It’s funny, I always say — the baseline of any great relationship is communication and transparency, and nobody (expletive) talked when I first got here," he said. “I’m like, get these guys to sing, because they just won’t even talk to each other.”
That’s improved, Love says, since his arrival.
“That’s been a huge sign of growth for us,” he said. “In timeouts, halftime, post-game, going over film, in film sessions before practice, like we just continue to have better communication. If we have a good foundation there, everything’s just going to grow.”
Perhaps his impact has been most seen with Keyonte George. Love’s locker sits next to George’s — in the veteran spot where Kris Dunn used to sit before he was traded away.
“I know I played well tonight,” Love started to say after his 16-point, 16-rebound performance, “But I just want to be the vet that I never really had early in my career. I look at somebody like him who’s taking a massive leap, and I just want to be able to support him as best I can in any way.”
Throughout his tenure as coach, Hardy’s motto to his team has been “Show Love.”
Kevin Love might be the best example.
