NEW YORK – Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has received the October NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente in recognition of his outstanding efforts to raise awareness, resources and support for mental health, the NBA announced today.  The award recognizes an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players share for giving back to their communities.

In honor of World Mental Health Awareness Day on Oct. 10, Love hosted a discussion and Q&A session focused on mental wellness and reducing the stigma around depression and anxiety for more than 500 Cavs and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse employees.  During the conversation, Love shared his own challenges with mental health and donated Headspace mindfulness app subscriptions to employees.  He also contributed $200,000 to the Kevin Love Fund for grants to the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation and Bring Change to Mind, continuing his work with the two organizations to encourage a mental health dialogue that promotes understanding and empathy and total health.  During the 2019-20 season, Love will again host youth he has inspired through his work at Cavaliers home games and provide additional tickets for local charities.

Since March 2018, Love has been dedicated to raising awareness for mental health.  In September 2018 he created the Kevin Love Fund, which strives to inspire people to live their healthiest lives while providing the tools to achieve physical and emotional well-being.  The fund held a 24-hour social media campaign this October to help end the stigma around mental illness and share well-being resources for youth.  Love recently discussed mental health advocacy with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and league executives and participated in several speaking engagements to discuss reducing the stigma around mental health and encourage everyone to live their healthiest life.

“What started out as a very personal story has turned into an incredible journey that has allowed me to connect with people from all ages and walks of life,” said Love.  “Everyone has been affected by mental health in some way, which is why it is vital to continue to normalize the conversation around it.  I want to thank everyone that has supported me along the way – my teammates, the NBA, our fans and the entire community that is working so hard to remove the stigma around mental health.”

Kiki VanDeWeghe, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations, will present the award to Love during an oncourt ceremony before the Cavaliers’ home game tonight against the Miami Heat (6:00 p.m. ET).  In addition, Kaiser Permanente and the NBA will donate $10,000 on Love’s behalf to the Kevin Love Fund.

The NBA Cares Community Assist Award presented by Kaiser Permanente recognizes an NBA player each month who best reflects the passion that the league and its players share for giving back to their communities.  It honors the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson, who improved the community piece by piece.  At the end of the 2019-20 regular season, the Seasonlong NBA Cares Community Assist Award winner will be announced at the 2020 NBA Awards presented by Kia.  To learn more, please visit http://www.nba.com/communityassist/.