Doc Rivers gets emotional when talking about childhood hero Bob Love

MILWAUKEE — Doc Rivers got emotional Wednesday when speaking about Bob Love, the former Chicago Bulls star forward and three-time All-Star who died Monday at the age of 81 after a long battle with cancer.

Love, who spent 11 years in the NBA, forged a special bond with Rivers when the Bucks coach was a teenager growing up in Chicago.

“He was a big guy in my life,” Rivers said before the Bucks game against the Bulls in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, his voice breaking. “Really an impressive guy. People remember Bob from basketball and I really don’t. He was a great basketball player but I met him when I was young, in high school.”

Rivers said he first encountered Love at a park in Chicago and took note of Love’s severe stuttering problem.

“I remember him talking to me and really struggling,” Rivers said. “I thought how courageous that was. That an NBA player would speak to a bunch of kids at a park. It was just so impressive to me.”

A relationship between Rivers and Love took root.

“For whatever reason, Bob took a liking to me,” Rivers said. “He would give me his shoes. Just a powerful guy. A tough guy. I think he epitomized Chicago in a lot of ways with his toughness and how we grew up.”

Rivers said other young Chicago basketball players at that time, including Mark Aguirre and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, also took a liking to Love.

“Bob was our guy and I think we all took that toughness from him,” Rivers said.

He noted that Love, who was an All-Star for three straight seasons from 1970-73 and averaged a team-high and career-best 25.8 points during the 1971-72 season, struggled after his basketball career but was able to overcome one of his biggest challenges after he left the game.

“He conquered the hardest thing that he could conquer and that was his stuttering problem,” Rivers said.

Rivers, getting emotional again, said he wanted Love, whose No. 10 jersey hangs in the rafters at the United Center, to be remembered, and not just for what he accomplished on the court.

“I think we should take note of guys like that because I thought he meant so much to kids,” Rivers said. “He epitomized not only toughness as a player but just with the stuff he went through in life.”