MILWAUKEE — Doc Rivers became emotional Wednesday when talking about Bob Love, the former Chicago Bulls forward and three-time All-Star who died Monday at the age of 81 after a long battle with cancer.
Love, who spent 11 years in the NBA, forged a special bond with Rivers when the Milwaukee Bucks coach was a teenager growing up in Chicago.
“He was a great guy in my life,” Rivers said before the Bucks’ game against the Bulls in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, his voice breaking. “He’s really an awesome guy. People remember Bob from basketball and I really don’t. He was a great basketball player, but I knew him when I was young, in high school.”
Rivers said he first met Love in a Chicago park and took note of Love’s severe stuttering problem.
“I remember him talking to me and really struggling,” Rivers said. “I thought how brave that was. For an NBA player to speak to a group of kids in a park. It was so impressive to me.”
A relationship took root between Rivers and Love.
“For some reason, Bob liked me,” Rivers said. “He would give me his shoes. He was just a powerful guy. A tough guy. I think he personified Chicago in a lot of ways with his toughness and the way we grew up.”
Rivers said other young Chicago basketball players at the time, including Mark Aguirre and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, also liked Love.
“Bob was our guy and I think we all took that toughness out of him,” Rivers said.
He noted that Love, who was an All-Star for three consecutive seasons from 1970-73 and averaged a team-high and career-best 25.8 points during the 1971-72 season, struggled after his career in the basketball, but he was able to overcome a problem. of his biggest challenges after leaving the game.
“He conquered the hardest thing he could conquer and that was his stuttering problem,” Rivers said.
Rivers, getting emotional again, said he wanted Love, whose No. 10 jersey hangs in the rafters of the United Center, to be remembered, and not just for what he accomplished on the court.
“I think we should take note of guys like that because I thought it meant a lot to the kids,” Rivers said. “He personified not only toughness as a player, but also the things he went through in life.”
