NBA Star Kevin Love Talks Famous Family’s ‘Trauma’ & Going No-Contact With Parents

NBA star Kevin Love recently opened up about going no-contact with his parents for nearly a decade.

During the May 4 episode of the School of Greatness podcast, the forward-center for the Utah Jazz addressed his complicated family dynamics. The athlete is the son of the late NBA star Stan Love and Karen Love, the nephew of Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love, and the first cousin once removed of Brian Wilson.

In a teaser clip posted via Instagram on April 30, Kevin, 37, addressed not speaking to his parents for nine years. “It was really around the 2016 playoffs and finals,” he shared. “Family dynamics are layered, they’re multifaceted, and they’re tough.”

The Beach Boys, front from left: Mike Love, Carl Wilson, rear from left: Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson

Kevin continued, “My dad’s side of the family, it’s well-documented with the Loves and even the Wilsons that, you know, within the frame of rock and roll, and what Brian Wilson and what Mike Love, my uncle, have spoken about at length. But also, in their memoirs and autobiography, like, there’s a lot of trauma there. There’s a lot of emotional depth there.”

Brian, who died in June 2025, previously detailed physical and emotional abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, Murry Wilson. Meanwhile, Brian and his cousin, Mike, also had a tumultuous relationship through the years. (Mike is 85 and still touring with the Beach Boys.)

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During the podcast sit-down, Kevin praised Mike for doing an “incredible job in navigating rock and roll and that space.” He explained, “He’s been doing TM and transcendental meditation for 60 years. He’s one of the OGs in that and done really great.”

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Kevin then circled back to his relationship with his parents—specifically his dad, Stan, who died in April 2025—sharing, “I think my dad caught a lot of that as well. And there were times where [in] the household, there was, full of landmines, and you didn’t know if it was going to be screaming or something physical was going to happen. Just landmines, slammed doors, screaming, all that stuff.”