Kevin Love Speaks on State of Utah Jazz's Rebuild

The Utah Jazz, through the first two months of the regular season, have begun to show some real bright spots in their development.

They've found their way to the double-digit win mark on the season nearly a month earlier than they did last year, have seen huge steps forward from Keyonte George to now emerge as a future star in the making, while seeing others youngsters like Isaiah Collier, Ace Bailey and Kyle Filipowski present some nice glimpses as well.

Kevin Love, in his first year with the team after joining aboard via trade earlier this summer, has seen those strides come to fruition firsthand after spending every day in the facility; being a veteran mentor for Utah's budding core, and having seen what real success in the league looks like after 18 years of experience.

And after the results of the Jazz's latest overtime loss to the Orlando Magic, Love was able to put that strong development into perspective, even while the end result didn't fall in their favor.

"I was talking to Ryan [Smith] and Will [Hardy] postgame, and just saying how these type of games are what we want to be in," Love said after the loss to Orlando. "The crowd's energized, feels like the playoffs. A lot of these guys haven't been able to experience this, so that's what we want."

"That was a huge sign of growth for us, and I know we didn't win the game, but just fighting back and showing what we're capable of; we're playing a lot better basketball as of late. It might not always show up in the stat sheet or the win column, but, I'm proud of our guys for showing a lot of character."

Kevin Love Saw Quality Growth in Jazz's Loss vs. Magic

Against the Magic in particular, while concluded with a crushing Desmond Bane overtime layup that sealed the game, it certainly wasn't an outing without a few positive takeaways.

Six players, including Love, scored in double figures, headlined by Keyonte George's 27 points, limited the Magic to shoot less than 30% from three on 37 attemps, and perhaps most impressively, pushed this one to overtime after previously trailing by 19 points before a resilient fourth quarter comeback.

Again, not the most shining outcome in the end, but for a young squad like Utah's boasting, it's hard to walk away feeling super disappointed with what was shown on the floor and the intensity the Jazz played with down the stretch.

Dec 20, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Orlando Magic forward Noah Penda (left) is fouled by Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love (42) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Another underrated component that Love has seen come to form in recent weeks? The communication from the Jazz's young guys.

"I mean, it's funny, I always say the baseline of any great relationship is communication and transparency, and nobody f–––––g talked when I first got here," Love continued postgame." I'm like, I gotta get these guys to sing, 'cause they just won't even talk to each other. So, that's been a huge sign of growth for us, even in timeouts, halftime, postgame, going over film, um, in film sessions before practice, like, we just continue to have better communication."

"If have a good foundation there, everything's just gonna grow. But, I think defensively, we've been doing a much better job in some aspects. Offensively, we continue to share the ball. Our assist numbers are still up... We just continue to share the ball at a very high level... I think we're playing better basketball."

Slowly but surely, things are coming together for Utah, and with over 60 games still to go on the regular season calendar, it's hard to see that development coming to a halt anytime soon.

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