Cavaliers' Kevin Love has message for critics after bounce back year: 'F--- what THEY think'

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Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers reflected on the 2021-22 season and how he battled back from a down 2020-21 campaign and criticism during the offseason to finishing runner-up in the Sixth Man of the Year Award voting.

Love embraced and thrived in a bench role with the Cavaliers and had Cleveland in the thick of the playoff hunt all season. If not for a few untimely injuries down the stretch, the Cavaliers may have been playing in the first round of the playoffs instead of fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament.

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Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love smiles after a play during the second half of a game against the Miami Heat Dec. 1, 2021, in Miami.  (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Love averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 74 games, the most he’s appeared in since the 2015-16 season.

"After the most frustrating injury of my career in the 20-21 season and an exit from USA Basketball in the summer due to not feeling fully healed and in shape — many people said I was done," the 5-time All-Star wrote in an Instagram post. "Some even went as far to say ‘Love should soon consider retirement…’. This even came from some I thought I respected and to my face and behind my back were Fugazi. I never let that commentary shake my belief system. 

"I reevaluated a lot of relationships but took the time to a--es the guy in the mirror first. I worked my a-- off to come in to the season healthy with the goal of being available and the mindset of helping lead a young team in taking the next step. Be the vet I never had early in my career. Help build a winning culture that permeates no matter