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Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is headed to Japan.
As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Love will play for Team USA at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Love joins the likes of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Devin Booker as confirmed members of the Olympic team.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward/center Kevin Love has committed to joining Team USA's 12-man roster for the Summer Olympics, @excelbasketball agent Jeff Schwartz tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2021
If Love wins a gold medal, it will be the third time an active Cavalier will win a gold medal. He hasn’t played for Team USA since 2012, when he was part of a Team USA squad that went undefeated at the London Olympics and won a gold medal. He was also part of the 2010 team that won gold at the FIBA World Championships.
In 2014, Love didn’t participate in the World Championships due to on-going trade talks that ultimately resulted him being traded to the Cavaliers. Injuries and other issues have kept him off Team USA since then. On the international stage, he’s like to operate as a floor spacer off the team’s lead creators and will likely thrive in the role.
It’s also a chance for Love to a) get some game time under him after several years of inconsistent and b) maybe boost his value on the trade market. The Olympics start on July 23 and run through August 8.