Q&A: Kevin Love

Courtesy of Steve Serby 

Q: What would you think of playing one day — 2015? — in New York for the Knicks?

A: My dad used to talk about playing in the Garden and going against the great New York Knicks in the early ’70s, so I have a lot of stories of that growing up. … Going to play in the Garden is really the Mecca, and everybody always says unlike anything else, so yeah I mean, the Knicks are a great franchise to be a part of, but as of right now I’m a Cleveland Cavalier, and I see that for a long time being, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with my career. But as far as playing in New York, it’s unlike anything else, it’s really truly a treat.

Q: How would you describe your on-court mentality?

A: Just gritty — do whatever it takes to win. Also a sponge, too. I’m just trying to learn and get better so I can help my team win.

Q: You once were quoted as saying you considered yourself an assassin on the court.

A: I try to be. I think the last probably four or five years, I’ve scored the ball at a very high clip, and yeah, I kinda looked at myself as that, but I think all scorers do. I think if you asked some of the best shooting guards or some of the top power forwards that score the ball at a very high clip, I think they’d kinda look at themselves maybe not that word, but pretty much close to it.

Q: How does your rebounding style differ from Dennis Rodman’s?

A: I sought out Bill Russell at kind of a rookie program back in the summer of 2008. I asked him: “What could be my niche in this league, how could I set myself apart?” He said rebounding, and the 80 percent of rebounds are below the rim, and you don’t have to be the most athletic guy in the world. A lot of it is positioning and mentality, so I proceeded to take that to heart throughout my career.

Q: What’s your scouting report on Kevin Love?

A: Plays inside-out … can beat you at pretty much every spot on the floor … don’t want to foul him, can shoot it well from the free-throw line … force him to go to his counters.

Q: I hear you use Body Armor to help keep your energy up on the court.

A: I’m a very heavy sweater, so it’s very important to my training both on and off the floor staying hydrated. It has a lot of electrolytes, vitamin, coconut water, and low in sodium, high in potassium, so it gives all the proper nutrients I need to compete out there on the floor.

Q: Knicks assistant coach Kurt Rambis … What’s the first thing that comes to the top of your head?

A: The glasses.

Q: What was it like playing for him with the Timberwolves?

A: Kurt was great. He obviously came in when we had a very, very young team, a team that had a lot of turnover, a lot of different players. But he was the type of guy, you could tell he was from the old-school era — the ’80s were a brutal time in the game, I mean, they’d sock your ass on the floor, hit you, scratch you, draw blood. … He was a guy that, believe it or not, helped influence my outside game and really wanted me to continue to shoot the 3-ball.

Q: Would you go back in a time machine and play in the ’80s?

A: That was what I grew up on. My dad had me watching ’80s basketball, and how physical it was, and the “Superstar” videos, and the Boston outlet drill, and the Showtime Lakers, [Detroit Pistons] Bad Boys. … It was a great time where you also had a lot of parity throughout the league. There were so many great players on so many different teams that you could try to model your game after and look at. If I could go in a time machine, that’d be great. But I’m not too mad at playing in today’s game either.

Q: Boyhood idol?

A: Naturally, my dad was one of my idols, but they’re actually on the same TV show together, on TNT, both Shaq [Shaquille O’Neal] and Charles Barkley — those are two of my basketball idols growing up. I had a few more, but those guys were big men that could dominate the game, so I enjoyed them.

Q: Wasn’t Moses Malone another one?

A: Moses was, Larry Bird, Magic, Kevin McHale — I had quite a few, yeah.

Q: What drives you?

A: The willingness to succeed, wanting to do better, to better myself. It’s not only on the court, but off the court as well. I’m always really thirsty or hungry for knowledge and continue to be a better person and a better ballplayer. As well as at the end of the day, my family drives me as well.

Q: Three dinner guests?

A: Abe Lincoln; Muhammad Ali in his prime; Alexander the Great.

Q: Favorite movie?

A: “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”

Q: Favorite actor?

A: Matthew McConaughey.

Q: Favorite actress?

A: Jennifer Lawrence.

Q: Favorite singer/entertainer?

A: Justin Timberlake.

Q: Favorite meal?

A: Anything my mom cooks. She just came for Thanksgiving, so it’s kinda fresh on my mind.