Current Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love has not yet earned a trip to the playoffs in his six NBA seasons. In fact, the Timberwolves have won an average of just 26 games in his six seasons with the team.
According to a graphic by ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh, Love isn’t the reason Minnesota has struggled during his tenure with the franchise. The scribe took a look at 15 players named to any of the three All-NBA teams last year and the number of teammates said player had with win share totals of +7.0 (h/t Business Insider).
Not surprisingly, Love has been the most unfortunate of the 15 players studied.
Note: Pro Basketball Reference explains the win share calculuations here.
That’s a total of zero teammates who can be considered top-4o players in the Association. In an even less surprising turn of events, Tony Parker and LeBron James head the list.
This tells us a story of players who are considered elite needing a solid supporting cast in order to succeed in the NBA. Now on his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers to team up with LeBron James, it appears that Love’s luck is about to change.
As it relates to who might take over for Love as the “unluckiest player in the NBA,” that mantle will be passed to Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, who has led his team to the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. This could also lend support to the idea that Curry is among the most valuable players in the Association, even more so than James or Love.
Photo: USA Today