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The sooner Kevin Love retires, the sooner he’ll likely enter the Hall of Fame — but he wants his basketball career to last as long as possible.
Love, 37, just started his 18th season with his fourth NBA team, the Utah Jazz, and he’s embracing a new role in a new city.
“I love it. And I think it’s a whole different challenge being here. I keep saying ‘pay it forward’ to the young guys, but it’s gratifying for me to show up every day and I’m actually feeling really good. Thirty years of organized basketball, my knees might tell me otherwise, but I’m actually feeling really good,” Love told Pakinomist Digital in a recent interview. “I’m not an 82-game guy anymore, but I like to go out there and put my best foot forward, and I love to play the game. Sometimes the business that we talk about can be small — you get traded or contracts come into play, there’s definitely a lot there that’s both good and bad, but I love it. The NBA has been very good to me, so I want to stick with me as long as I want to stick around.”
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Kevin Love of the Utah Jazz dribbles past Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks during the first half of a preseason game on Oct. 13, 2025, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
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Part of the reason Love is still doing well is because of Shift Naturals, a wellness brand Love joked is medical marijuana-adjacent. With no sugar or alcohol, the brand’s gummies and drinks help him unwind after a long day of training or being a dad.
“This is my 18th season and my career has been built on recovery and consistency, it’s great to have healthy alternatives and ones that actually taste good. It’s made in Oregon, so my backyard, I grew up in Portland, so Bend, Oregon is near and dear to me and it’s a team that I trust,” Love said. “So it’s sparkling water, it’s cocktails and gummies that help people relax and recover and deal with stress. I use it pretty much every day. The gummies I typically have after I put my daughter down at night or after a workout or I lift and get these things in and after, you know, to hydrate, I typically have the sparkling water at night just to take a load off.”
Kevin Love of the Utah Jazz looks on during the first half of a basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center on November 2, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (David Jensen/Getty Images)
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Shift Naturals is just another part of the sports science world that Love has leaned into to further his career. He also credits the influx of information over the years — information that was unimaginable when he started playing — for why players like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant still compete.
“We didn’t have these healthy alternatives when I had come into the league. … Now you have something like Shift, it’s made for a soft unwind, it’s nice to have that kind of thing,” Love said. “Sports science, there’s so many different modalities, and longevity is a real thing. You see guys, not just staying 15, 20, 20-plus years in the league, where you have Steph Currys, Kevin Durants, LeBron James performing at a very high level, still in the later stages, so whether you have it, again or again. it’s hyperbaric or red light or contrast therapy, there’s just so much that’s proven now to really push guys into longer careers and healthier careers.
“I wish I was educated and knew more [when I first came into the league]. Why and how it can affect body and mind. That’s why it’s such a testament to those guys. You have to be a little bit lucky, but those guys have managed to stay healthy despite coming into the league when all of that wasn’t at our disposal.”
Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) handles the ball against Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate (14) during the first quarter at Spectrum Center. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)
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Love also made a bold prediction – with all the additional scientific knowledge now available, longer careers will become the norm, coupled with healthier lifestyles off the field.
“I think you’re going to see that more and more — guys that play 15, 20 years in the league because they have all of that. It’s going to be amazing to see these long careers and what people are going to be able to produce or how they’re going to be able to produce for a longer period of time and just be better for a longer period of time, healthier for a longer period of time, long term, after they’re done playing, I think it’s probably going to feel better in the body. create a lot more fulfilling and satisfying life just by feeling better every day. Feel like younger parents, younger fathers, younger husbands, fathers, it will make for a better life.”
