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CLEVELAND (AP/WJW) — The Former NBA player Stan Love, the brother of Beach Boys singer Mike Love and the father of former Cleveland Cavaliers and current Miami Heat player Kevin Love, has died. He was 76.
Kevin Love announced his father’s death in an Instagram post Sunday night.
“Dad, I’m so proud to be your son,” Kevin posted, explaining that his father had been fighting a long time. “My only hope is that you’re proud of me. It was all I ever wanted. Thank you for everything.”
Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) gestures to the crowd after a video tribute and introduction in the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday, March 5, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Kevin Love #0 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on before playing against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on February 12, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Stan Love was a 6-foot-9 forward who starred at Morningside High School in Inglewood, California, and at Oregon before he was selected ninth overall by Baltimore in the 1971 NBA draft.
He averaged 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 226 games in four seasons with the Bullets and the Los Angeles Lakers. He also played 12 games for San Antonio in the American Basketball Association.
Proud dad, former NBAer and Oregon Duck Stan Love, left, watches his son UCLAbound Kevin Love playing at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA Friday night, December 15, 2006. Brian Wilson, on Love’s right. Love, and his son’s High School team from Lake Oswego (Ore.) High School during showcase game against Compton Centennial. (Photo by Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Kevin, who famously helped the Cavs to a championship in 2016, has been away from Heat because of personal reasons and is not set to play in Game 4 against Cleveland on Monday night. The series currently sits at 3-0. If the Cavaliers win Monday’s game they move on to Round 2 of the NBA playoffs.
“Like all of us, my Dad was imperfect,” Kevin wrote in the post Sunday. “But despite his flaws, and my own, we are a successful story of father and son. A never ending bond, rooted in love, that will forever remain eternal.”
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