Bob Love

For the Australian footballer, see Bob Love (footballer). For the British lawn bowler, see Bob Love (lawn bowls).
Bob Love

Love, circa 1968
Personal information
Born (1942-12-08) December 8, 1942
Bastrop, Louisiana
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight 215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school Morehouse (Bastrop, Louisiana)
College Southern (1961–1965)
NBA draft 1965 / Round: 4 / Pick: 33rd overall
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career 1965–1977
Position Small forward
Number 21, 9, 10
Career history
1965–1966 Trenton Colonials (EPBL)
1966–1968 Cincinnati Royals
1968 Milwaukee Bucks
1968–1976 Chicago Bulls
1976–1977 New York Nets
1977 Seattle SuperSonics
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points 13,895 (17.6 ppg)
Rebounds 4,653 (5.9 rpg)
Assists 1,123 (1.4 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Love in 2010

Robert Earl "Butterbean" Love (born December 8, 1942) is an American retired professional basketball player who spent the prime of his career with the National Basketball Association's Chicago Bulls. A versatile forward who could shoot with either his left or right hand, Love now works as the Bulls' Director of Community Affairs.[1]

Early years

After starring at Morehouse High School (now defunct) in Louisiana, Love played basketball for Southern University, where he also became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega. He earned All-America honors in 1963, and in 1965, the Cincinnati Royals selected the 6’8" forward in the fourth round of the 1965 NBA draft. Love failed to make the team, and instead spent the 1965–66 NBA season in the Eastern Basketball League. After averaging over 25 points per game, Love earned the EBL Rookie of the Year Award and gained enough confidence to try out for the Royals once more. He made the team on his second attempt and played two seasons for the Royals, largely in a reserve role. Love made his NBA debut on October 18, 1966.[2] In 1968, the Milwaukee Bucks selected him in the NBA Expansion Draft and traded him to the Chicago Bulls in the middle of the 1968–69 season.

Chicago Bulls (1968–1976)

Love flourished while playing for Dick Motta's Bulls. In 1969–70, he became a full-time starter, averaging 21 points and 8.7 rebounds. The following two seasons he averaged 25.2 and 25.8 points per game, appeared in his first two NBA All-Star Games, and earned All-NBA Second Team honors both seasons. Love also appeared in the 1973 All-Star Game, and he would average at least 19 points and six rebounds every season until 1976–77. Love was named to the NBA's All-Defense Second Team in 1974 and 1975.

His #10 jersey was the second jersey number to be retired by the Chicago Bulls. Jerry Sloan's #4 was the first. Love's 1995 wedding ceremony to Rachel Dixon took place at the United Center.

Post-basketball career

Love ended his NBA career with the Bulls after spending parts of the 1976–77 season in New York and Seattle. He would finish with career totals of 13,895 points, 1,123 assists, and 4,653 rebounds. Love suffered from a severe stuttering problem from childhood,[3] which prevented him from finding meaningful employment after his playing days were over. At one point, Love was a busboy making $4.45 an hour.[3] Eventually, the owner of the restaurant where Love washed dishes offered to pay for speech therapy classes, and in 1993 he returned to the Chicago Bulls as their director of community relations.[3] One of his duties in this position involves regularly speaking to school children.[3] Love has also become a motivational speaker.

He wrote a book, The Bob Love Story: If It's Gonna Be, It's Up to Me (ISBN 0-8092-2597-2), in 1999.

References

  1. ↑ "Staff Directory". 2007-10-01.
  2. ↑ http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lovebo01.html
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bob Greene (1993-03-21). "Basketball star's greatest triumph came after cheering stopped". Chicago Tribune.


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