“I’ve played with LeBron James; we were under great scrutiny”: Kevin Love defends the Lakers superstar as they flounder to a .500 record while the Cavs sit pretty

Kevin Love describes the effect of LeBron James on the media attention as ‘magnetic’ while discussing their seasons in Cleveland.

It goes without saying that LeBron James has probably been the 21st century’s most dominant ‘franchise’, by himself. He’s made 10 NBA Finals out of 19. No NBA franchise has made it to the Finals for a higher percentage of their seasons.

James started off on a lackluster Cleveland Cavaliers roster, with a front office that just couldn’t place the right pieces around him. They bet big and lost on has-been big men like Shaq and Ben Wallace. It ultimately led to James decisively bolting to South Beach with Chris Bosh.

4 NBA Finals and 2 championships later, the haters had been abundantly shut up when he returned to Ohio. However, the team still needed a few pieces for LeBron to truly contend. Pat came the trade for Kevin Love as Andrew Wiggins moved the other way following the draft.

Kevin Love and LeBron went to the next 4 Finals together. Love was a bit-part player by the end, his lateral mobility severely affected by a spate of injuries since his move. Love was often made the media scapegoat, much like Chris Bosh before him, whenever the Cavs lost.

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Despite this, Love considers King James to be by far his most trustworthy teammate, on and off the court.

Kevin Love reminisces about playing with LeBron James on 4 NBA Finals teams

Kevin Love is now a valuable contributor on a Cavs team set to make the playoffs for the first time without LeBron James in the 21st century, if they keep the same pace.

Love was interviewed by JJ Redick recently about the pressure of playing on a team always on the brink of contention and always in the limelight. His response was candid as he defended LeBron during the Lakers’ chaos this year:

“I’ve played with Bron and we were under a lot of scrutiny as well in Cleveland and we had great expectations. People were saying Finals or championship or bust.”

“Every little misstep or lose three in a row or hovering around .500, it’s just a dozen different storylines, it’s a soap opera. People always got to have stuff to talk about 24/7, 365 media presence. If not, you’re not going to get your ratings. It’s just a fact.”

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