Kevin Love will go down in history as one of the greatest players to ever wear a Minnesota Timberwolves’ jersey. Here are his top 10 games of all-time.
While his time in Minnesota may not have been as long as many would have liked, Kevin Love’s impact was felt every time he took the court. He left Minnesota Timberwolves’ fans with many memories that will be talked about for years to come.
In his time with Minnesota, Love won the NBA Most Improved Player award. He also had two All-Star appearances and was chosen to the All-NBA second team in two different seasons. he had some of his best seasons while playing for Minnesota.
He’s averaged 26 or more points on two different occasions. He also led the NBA in rebounding in the 2010-11 season by grabbing an insane 15.2 rebounds per game.
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While that may have been his best rebounding season, Love’s best season must be the 2013-14 campaign. Not only did he average 26.1 points per game and shot 45 percent from the field but he started in 77 games.
That season was the most games he’s started in and it also is second most games he’s played in since his rookie season. Love was a double-double machine in his prime years with Minnesota.
With a great back to the basket game, a smooth stroke, his tenacious rebounding and the ability to pass, Love was truly a franchise talent.
Some games he seemed as if he was virtually unstoppable. Love was eventually traded coming into the 2014-15 NBA season for Andrew Wiggins.
While this trade may have been the best option for Minnesota, it left Wolves fans with memories of a player that they will never forget.
Here are the top 10 greatest games from Kevin Love in his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
10. Love vs Dallas Mavericks 12/30/13
We start the list off with Love’s end of the year performance vs the Dallas Mavericks in the 2013-14 NBA season.
Love came into this game averaging 26.1 points, while also snagging 13.8 rebounds. Also, at this point of the season, there were some who thought Love was playing at an MVP caliber pace. This may be attributed because coming into this game, he was third in the NBA in scoring.
Love was on a roll as of late and looked as if he was the best power forward in the NBA at the time. This great play from him didn’t slow down.
This game showed off Love’s versatile skill set to the fullest. Love started the game off with his first basket being a long two.
He then scored his second basket with his back to the basket by throwing up a simple hook shot. Throughout the game, he abused mismatches of smaller players guarding him by backing them down and getting easy baskets at the time.
He displayed early that he can score in many ways. He showed that not only does he has the strength and skill to bang down low in the post, but he can also step out and hit the long jump shot with consistency as well.
While he only posted 4 assists, his ability to pass was displayed as well. He amazed the crowd with his ability to pass, by throw his signature outlet pass to a leaking Corey Brewer for an easy transition basket.
While the Wolves ended up losing this game by two, Love continued his stretch of great basketball.
He finished the game with 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 14-24 from the field.
Leaving us Wolves fans with just another memory of his greatness.
9. Love vs Indiana Pacers 2/19/14
We continue this list as Kevin Love single-handily torched the Indiana Pacers.
This game was the Timberwolves first game since the all-star break and at the time they were trying to make a push for the eigth seed in the western conference.
Though, this Wolves team had been battling injuries of late which meant certain players had to step up and Kevin Love took this challenge. He went for 42 points and 16 rebounds as he looked like the best player on the floor that night.
He came out of the gates scorching hot as he scored 12 out of Minnesota first 21 points all from perimeter jump shots.
It seemed as if he had found his jumper early, and you knew it was one of those nights where he amazed the home crowd in Minnesota. The Pacers tried everything to stop him, but good defense will always be demolished by even better offense.
Even with Minnesota having a respectable 14-point lead with 1:50 left, he stole a pass in transition and hustle to save the ball before it went out of bounds.
This displayed that even with a sizable lead, he was going to play hard until the end of the game. Not only did he finish with 42 points, but he also did so while having a very efficient shooting night by shooting 14-22 from the field.
This game was Love’s eighth straight game with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, which at the time was the longest streak of such since 2005.
Love also led the NBA with games of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds at that point in the season.
Kevin Love was a man on a mission and it seemed that no one in the NBA would stop him.
8. Love vs Los Angeles Lakers 3/28/14
While it’s documented of how much of a talented passer Love is, it took him six seasons to post his second career triple double.
Not to mention that he posted his second career triple double in a game in which the Minnesota Timberwolves scored their franchise high for points. The Wolves beat the Lakers 143 – 107.
Love ended the game tallying 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on a brilliant game.
This performance was just another one of those games where you could see Love when he was at his best. It was a scary sight whenever Love was in the zone, but this was a rare occasion because not only was he in a zone but it seemed as if the entire Wolves roster were in a zone.
With a deadly inside out game, high basketball IQ, and his ability to make plays for others on his team, he and the rest of the Wolves annihilated the Lakers as they took a 26-7 lead early in the first quarter.
While this game may not have been one of his most impressive scoring wise, that was a completely different story when factoring impact wise. Love displayed his high basketball IQ by picking his spots.
He was also able to create opportunities for his teammates by finding them not only when they were open but also at times where the defense showed him too much attention.
This brilliant passing was capped off with Love throwing his trademark outlet pass. The recipient was Kevin Martin, 60 feet away on the opposite side of the court.
It took Love three quarters to record his second career triple-double, which turned out to be one of the last times Minnesota fans were able to experience such performances from Love.
7. Love vs Sacramento Kings 4/13/14
Kevin Love is an offensive machine. He can score in multiple ways and often puts defenses into tough situations. If you can’t adjust, then there’s a possibility that you may be torched.
This was on full display when Love exploded for 43 points against the Sacramento kings in April of the 2013-14 NBA season. As always, he was locked in and trying to contribute the much needed scoring punch that the Wolves needed on a nightly basis.
He also grabbed 11 rebounds, while shooting 12-23 from the field and 4-9 from behind the arc. The most impressive part of this game was his ability to get to the free throw line.
He attempted 17 free throws, in which 15 of those he made. Love once again displayed his versatility by showing while he may not get to the line as often, he does have the ability to draw the foul and get a free bucket. He made tough shot after tough shot.
Whether it’d be him fading away on the low block, or him knocking down a contested jumper, Love was in a zone. While he only ended the game with 1 assists, just his ability to score at will impacted the game.
The Kings defensive scheme required the help come to love and this in return created easy opportunities for teammates.
The Wolves lost this game 106-103 but with another dominating performance from Love, it was clear that he was an elite force that showed up for the Wolves on a nightly basis.
Not only did this game just add onto the list of games to solidify Love’s dominance in the league, but it also helped solidified him as a Wolves great.
6. Love vs Phoenix Suns 2/25/14
We continue this list with another one of those games where Love demonstrates his ability to pass.
The Phoenix Suns were the victims this time.
Love came into the game coming off 5 straight 30-point games, so it’s an understatement to say he came in feeling good. This showed as he scored 14 points in the first quarter while shooting 5-10 from the field.
It was another one of those games in which, his jumper was going down, he was attacking mismatches, and he was just playing good overall basketball. The Wolves trailed for the most part of this game until the fourth quarter came.
The Wolves looked refreshed and revamped in the fourth as they eventually slipped away from the Suns and win 110-101. Love ended the game with an impressive stat sheet of 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists in 39 minutes.
Love fell one assist short of a triple-double but his impact passing the ball was felt, especially in the fourth. He could give teammates easy baskets, one being where he noticed Corey Brewer cutting back-court for an easy layup.
This assist gave the Wolves a three point lead with just a little over two minutes left to play. This was just another game in which Love was the best player on the court.
He went into a zone, a zone in which nothing else mattered to him besides winning. He’s most lethal when he’s doing whatever it takes to win and that was on display Feb. 25, 2014.
Kevin Love was showing everyone that one day when people talk of great basketball players in Minnesota Timberwolves history, that his name was high on that list.
5. Love vs Memphis Grizzlies 4/2/14
What a nice April Fools prank it would be if Kevin Love recorded his third triple-double against the Memphis Grizzlies, right?
Too bad it wasn’t a prank seeing as April Fools was just the day before. On April 2, 2014, Love recorded his third career triple-double against the Memphis Grizzlies.
He had 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves gained themselves a 102-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Once again, the best person on the floor that night was Kevin Love. He could do no wrong.
He was scoring, he was crashing the glass, and he was setting his teammates up for easy opportunities. Not only was love scoring but he was also efficiently as well. He shot 9-15 from the field, while knocking in two from downtown as well.
The most impressive part and the rather shocking part about this game was his defense. He may not be known for his defense but on this night, he did make it harder for his opposition.
His matchup, who was Zach Randolph, finished the game shooting 1-8 from the field in 27 minutes. Love couldn’t be stopped on either end of the floor.
It seemed when the ball was in his hands’ nothing but good was going to come from it. Of course, as always, we saw a pinpoint outlet pass too. The recipient this time was no other than Kevin Martin, who found himself getting an easy layup because of Love’s outstanding court vision.
This was just another game where Love did not only display his versatile offensive skill set, but also showcase his defensive ability as well.
4. Love vs Atlanta Hawks 2/1/14
It’swell-knownn that Kevin Love is a double-double machine. Two things you know about him is, he can score the basketball, and he can rebound as well. The Atlanta Hawks found this out the hard way.
On Feb. 1, 2014, Love did what he does best and record a big boy double-double of 43 points and 19 rebounds against the Hawks.
Love had another dominant performance of his career. He had 15 points and 12 rebounds going into the half. These numbers from him ended up leading to Minnesota going into the half with a 54-43 lead.
Coming out of the half, he didn’t slow down, as he scored 28 points in the second half of the game. Unfortunately, this was not enough as the Hawks went on a surge in the third quarter and eventually went on to win the game 120-113.
While the Wolves may have lost, Love was not a loser that night. He was once again in that zone of where he tried to do whatever it took to win, but it just couldn’t happen on this night.
He had an efficient night shooting the basketball by going 12-22 from the field. He also shot 18 free throws, in which he made 17 of them.
Love was aggressive the entire night as he just tried to find his shot and easy opportunities to score. If there wasn’t a body on him, he was grabbing the rebound. It can be seen at times, the Hawks had to have two players box out Love because of how aggressive he was at crashing the glass.
It was just another great game, for a great player to add onto his list of great games in his career.
3. Love vs Los Angeles Clippers 12/22/13
The question for a while was “Blake Griffin or Kevin Love?”
Both were up and coming stars in the NBA who may have had a few similarities, but also were different in many ways as well. Love was stronger in certain areas such as shooting, rebounding, and low post offense.
On the other hand, Griffin had him with the athleticism and ball control. One thing is for sure, anytime these two played against each other, you know you were in for a battle.
This was no different as Love posted 45 points and 19 rebounds against the Clippers on Dec. 22, 2013. As always Love displayed his unique offensive skill set by working inside-out. Not only was love a scoring and rebounding machine but he was also looking to get his teammates involved.
Love finished the game with six assists. He had a very efficient shooting night shooting 15-23 from the field, while also converting on 13 of his 15 free throws.
Loves stat sheet made him the only player to put up numbers as such since Hakeem Olajuwon did it himself in 1996. Ironically against the Timberwolves. Love was putting numbers that resembled the dream.
While he may have won the battle, in the end the Clippers won the game due to poor late game execution, as well as missed free throws. One being from Love.
This game may have been a loss, but Love had forever put himself in history with the numbers he posted. Also, it may have changed the minds of those who questioned if he was elite, or if he was better than Blake Griffin at the time.
Kevin Love was a revolutionary player, with insane talent. This game was just yet another display to show how great the Wolves franchise player was.
2. Love vs Oklahoma City Thunder 3/23/12
Arguably one of the most entertaining games, if not the most entertaining game in Wolves history during the Kevin Love era was when he scored a career-high 51 points.
Not to mention he also pulled down 14 rebounds.
Love had never been in a zone as the one he was in on this night. He hit seven three-pointers, which at the time was a career-high, as well as making 12 out of his 16 free throws. He seemed as if he couldn’t be stopped.
There were shots that went in for him, that wouldn’t go in any other nights. He had the green light all game long. Whenever the defense slacked off or lose sight of him, he surely made them pay. This is when Wolves fans knew, it was one of those games. While playing with a banged-up Wolves roster, Love played with a chip on his shoulder.
One of the most memorable moments of this game was when the Wolves were down three with three seconds left, Love faced up in the corner and hit a contested three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Unfortunately, the Wolves lost in double overtime 149-140.
The Wolves lost the game, but Love won some respect. Not only did he win the respect of fans and peers but he also gained the respect from his opponents. Kevin Love played his heart out that night and was repaid when he scored a career-high.
This game showed that Kevin Love wasn’t only going to be known as one of the greatest power forwards in Timberwolves history but that he would be known as one of the greatest players in franchise history.
1. Love vs New York Knicks
The greatest game of Kevin Love’s career while with the Timberwolves was played on Dec. 11, 2010. In just his third season, Love accomplished something that hadn’t been done in 28 years at the time. Kevin Love recorded a 30-30.
This meaning he scored 30+ points and grabbed 30+ rebounds in one game. This would happen against the New York Knicks as Love went for 31 points, 31 rebounds, and 5 assists.
He was a man among boys during this game as the Wolves ended up winning 112-103. At the time, both were career highs for him, while 31 rebound was a franchise record for the Timberwolves.
Love was a man on a mission, and that mission was to play basketball. On one possession, it’s even seen when Love grabs five offensive boards straight. That’s five more chances to score.
It seemed as if what Love was doing was superhuman because it hadn’t been done in so long. This game truly solidified the fact that he was now the franchise and the future for Minnesota. The most impressive part may be the fact that he also tallied 5 assists as well.
Of course, he noticed that it was his night, but just the unselfishness and ability to set his teammates up for easy baskets showed what type of NBA player Love was, a good one.
This was the most impressive game of his career because it took 28 years for someone to have another 30-30 game and he was that guy. To put it into perspective, sometimes entire teams will not grab 30 rebounds in one game, but Love was able to grab 31 alone.
Kevin Love is one of the greatest players in Minnesota Timberwolves history and he should be recognized as such.
While he may not be with the organization anymore, he has left us memories that will be remembered for decades.