BASKETBALL STAR KEVIN LOVE, currently playing for the Miami Heat, is hoping to keep motivating the world to find mental fitness, one stylish button-down at a time. The veteran player is now working with athletic apparel brand Rhone through its partnership with the NBA, as the official dress shirt of the league, to amplify the work that he’s done around mental health with his nonprofit, the Kevin Love Fund.
“I don’t know if I would have made it this far in my career if I hadn’t started this journey to become more mindful,” says Love, now entering his seventeenth year in the NBA. The athlete also freely admits that he was forced down this path when a panic attack hit him during a game on November 5, 2017 while he was playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I had always spent plenty of hours at the gym, but before that moment, I wasn’t spending a second on my mental strength,” Love says.
These days Love, who has ambitions to play 20 years in the league, spends equal time on his body and mind. Men’s Health spoke with the 6’8” power forward about the strategies he’s developed to find longevity on and off the court.
MEN’S HEALTH: When did you first start to recognize there was a mental part of athletics?
KEVIN LOVE: I was headstrong in the beginning, I felt like I understood the game. I was a historian of the game because my father, who was also a pro player, introduced me to the ’80s and ’90s eras of basketball. He had this idea early on that the bigger players were going to be able to shoot the ball from the outside and in some ways players would be positionless. He saw that before it happened in the league.
As far as the mental part of the game, intimidation was as far as we got. I wanted my opponents to feel like they didn’t want to play against me. But we never really discussed the mental side of things any deeper than that. And we weren’t using terms like mental fitness. It’s a concept that I wish I had been introduced to a lot earlier in my career.
MH: What is the first time you experienced real stress in connection with the game?
KL: The first time I experienced real anxiety was when I was in the eighth grade and was told that I had to have knee surgery. I was 14 years old, and being told that the game was going to be taken away from me. When you are young, your mind is going all these different places, like not being able to ever play again. Looking back, with so many injuries over my 17-year career, I know that it wasn’t the end of the world. But I didn’t have that perspective yet.
Now, I understand that injuries are bad of course, but don’t have to be the end of the world. Going through that adversity and to persevere is an opportunity for growth. The same goes for your mental health. You can suffer set-backs, like I did, and then use that as a chance to build back up stronger in the mind too. Missing a few games seems like the worst case scenario when you’re a young player, but it’s really not. I learned that from the best athletes and coaches in the world. That’s another key part, knowing that it’s fine, and actually good, to ask for help.
MH: Because of the candid way that you’ve discussed your struggles during that 2017 game, I feel like people forget how truly great you were playing back then. Just a year earlier you had won the NBA championship with LeBron and the Cavaliers. And on that run you had that legendary 34-point first quarter against the Trail Blazers.
KL: You work so hard for those moments to be able to happen, but there’s really no telling when they are going to come. But when you’re in it, it’s this out of body experience where all your decisions are forced to happen so fast, and they’re all the right ones. In that moment it feels like you are who you are meant to be, and what you’re truly capable of. There is also a lot of respect that you feel for your teammates, because they are the ones who are making sure that it can happen, and continue to happen.
That team, we were just rolling however we needed for each other and we were willing to sacrifice when needed. That quarter was just my time, I came out hot and the ball just seemed to have energy. LeBron was saying, “Just stay in it, we’re coming to you with this ball, don’t say a word and just stay in it.” And my team got me the ball. That was a lesson for me as well, understanding the importance of staying in a moment like that. The season can become a grind, and often we are constantly chasing trophies, but it’s important to realize a random game in November can be special, too.
MH: Speaking of teammates, what lessons did you take from your time playing with LeBron that still stick with you today?
KL:
On that day, he was the most giving person and was celebrating with me throughout the moment. During our time playing, I was constantly impressed by the balance that he brings to his life. No matter how much he gives to the game, he always made sure to have plenty to give to his wife and his kids.
The success that he has on the court is by design, not accident. He’s an extremely cerebral person, who is constantly studying and analyzing what the other teams are doing. On top of that I got to be around and witness the level of preparation that he puts in before a game, in the gym and on the court. There was a level of dedication that I’ve found myself trying to recreate as best I can. And a level of mindset that I am trying to achieve as well.
MH: Let’s get into developing “mental fitness” which is part of Rhone’s mission statement with this partnership with the NBA. What tools have you discovered to help you in your journey?
KL:
The first step is talking about your mental health and mental state whenever you can. For me, it just got to a point where I couldn’t suffer in silence any longer. I had that panic attack during a game, and people were starting to worry about me. And if I had just held onto it further, it wasn’t going to be a pretty end result. There were nerves about sharing my story, and unburdening myself, but what I gained from that was tremendous. So now I feel it’s important to talk about how much it’s helped me just to talk. My goal is to keep playing in the NBA for another three years, to get to that nice 20-year mark, but this is a way for me to affect change off the court, too. And when I do hang up the sneakers, I know that I have a purpose that has found me in this unexpected way.
Meditation
has been a great tool for me, and I’ve had success with apps like Headspace, but I know that that’s not for everyone. I have friends who do Transcendental Meditation, two times a day for 20 minutes or so, but that is also not for everyone. For people who are starting out I think it’s important to keep it as easy and obtainable as possible. Even just breathing can be a meditation on its own, and I personally feel like nobody is breathing right. I know I’m not. So stopping to focus on that is a great and easy way to get centered.
MH: I know exercise has always been a great way for me to get centered, and I have to imagine that being an athlete, it also has benefits to your mental state.
KL:
I do believe our mental and physical state are closely connected. I like to start off my day with physical activity. It’s great to get over your biggest hurdle early in the morning, because then it’s just smooth sailing. The endorphins and dopamine that you feel are great mood enhancers to take into your day as well. On top of that, it helps me do my job better. So I’ll usually throw on a little music, maybe some old school Nas or Jay-Z and get my workout in.
MH: Speaking of doing the difficult, what is the exercise that you dread the most, but feel great after?
KL:
My VO2 max workouts are always the worst. But I know how beneficial it is to my conditioning tests for the league and my performance on the court. So, despite not wanting to at all, I get on the air bike and go full force there, which is no small feat for a big guy like me. I feel great after though, and then I can throw on my new Rhone Commuter Shirt and head into the rest of my day with a smile on my face.
Official Dress Shirt of the NBA
Rhone Commuter Shirt Semi-Spread Collar
