NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2020-21

29. Kevin Love, PF/C, Cleveland Cavaliers

Just a few seasons ago the Cleveland Cavaliers would have ranked first on this list, but Akron native LeBron James left for warmer pastures to continue winning titles. With Kyrie Irving also shipped out, that left Kevin Love alone in Cleveland. After signing a long-term extension, the oft-injured Love now seems to be a fixture of Cavaliers basketball for the foreseeable future. Last year he and the Cavaliers made the list ranked 25th; his continued aging and the growth of young players around the league drop him to 29th.

Love still has a lot to offer an NBA team, as he is an efficient scoring threat who can space the floor at a high level for a center. Defensively he’s no rim protector, but he tries hard and knows where to be. A major problem for Love personally and the Cavaliers generally is the lack of spacing on this squad; Love is surrounded by players such as Andre Drummond (forcing Love over to power forward), Collin Sexton and Larry Nance Jr., a cornucopia of 3-point challenged players.

In the Mix: Andre Drummond is still a double-double machine, bullying his way to double-digit boards. He has not added much to his game as the league has moved past him, but he can still produce in the right context. None of the young guard collection seems poised to make a leap past Love anytime soon: Sexton, Kevin Porter Jr., Darius Garland and Isaac Okoro all have growing to do.